Text and Photos by Leo R. Maliksi\r\n \r\nThe Department of Cultural Affairs held a press conference on December 7 at the Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北中山堂) to inaugurate the exhibition “The Sketches of Formosa” (福爾摩沙印象展) that will run until February 24, 2019. DOCA invited four historians and artifact collectors to act as docents.\r\n \r\nThe exhibition features reproduced photos from books written between the 16th and 19th centuries. The books contained verbal descriptions and sketches made by European seafarers who landed on Formosa and interacted with this island’s inhabitants -- aborigines and Han Chinese. The descriptions and drawings express the first impressions those westerners had of Formosa and its peoples.\r\n\r\n\r\nDOCA Deputy Commissioner Lee Li Zhu (李麗珠) welcomes guests to the exhibition.\r\n\r\n\r\nMr. Jian Yixiong (簡義雄), a historical artifacts collector, is the exhibition curator.\r\n \r\n“This exhibition shows how the Europeans’ perception of Taiwan has changed over four hundred years,” said Guillaume Delvallee, deputy director of the French Office in Taipei.\r\n \r\n“When we arrived four hundred years ago, we had no idea what Taiwan was about and as you can see in some of the pictures, we depicted the Taiwanese as savages. We gradually discovered how much we had in common despite our differences, and you can see the evolution of the European understanding of Taiwan.”\r\n\r\n\r\nGuillaume Delvallee, deputy director of the French Office in Taipei, says the exhibition\r\nshows the evolution of the European understanding of Taiwan.\r\n \r\nSome western explorers who arrived in the 16th century did not have a correct knowledge of the island’s topography. So their drawings of this island lacked uniformity, giving their readers the impression that Formosa looked like an amoeba whose shape was constantly changing.\r\n \r\nThe exhibition shows little-known practices such as how the aborigines accepted the Spanish silver dollar as betrothal gift (bride price).\r\n \r\nVisitors will also learn that the famous Kangxi Tongbao (康熙通寶), Manchu Qing dynasty era brass coins produced under the reign of the Kangxi Emperor, floated on water. An illustrator asked Taiwan indigenous peoples to pose as models for some illustrations he did for the Illustrated London News. In the 19th century, when they met some Christian missionaries, some Taiwanese asked if they sold opium.\r\n\r\n\r\nProfessor Liqin Du (杜麗琴) explains the history behind some of the illustrations.\r\n \r\nThe exhibition has five major themes: 1. “Discovering Formosa” shows the impressions western voyagers and the peoples of Formosa had of each other; 2. “Educating Taiwan” features how Christian missionaries engaged in medical treatment as a way of spreading their Faith, introduced education for women, and how they experienced the bitterness of rejection and their gradual acceptance by the Taiwanese; 3. “Open Harbors and Trading” is about the exportation of Taiwan products such as oolong tea, sugar, and camphor; 4. “Taiwan Take Aways” shows how westerners portrayed the topography, animal species & plants, and culture of Taiwan; 5. “Raising Flags on Formosa” depicts how the western powers drew up plans to occupy Formosa.\r\n\r\n\r\n“A Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, an island subject to the emperor of Japan 1704,” written by George Psalmanaazaar, a Frenchman who lived in London. He wrote this book in the 18th century. It is a blend of facts about Taiwan and the author’s imagined conditions of the island. It served to awaken greater interest about Taiwan among Europeans.\r\n \r\nIf you visit the exhibition, don’t miss viewing some cultural artifacts: “Taiwan Sketches” (1645) is the earliest record of Taiwanese aborigines; “History and Geography of Formosa,” a spurious publication that was popular in Europe; “The U.S. History of Ocean Development” is a classic ten-volume history of the seas around Formosa; “The Illustrated London News” has illustrations of a lion dance performance and 9 sketches of aborigines drawn by illustrators who ventured into the mountain areas. There are gold and silver coins used by the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, Austrians, and Japanese, as well as Song dynasty coins salvaged from shipwrecks.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nThe Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) on December 4 held the 22nd Taipei Culture Award ceremony at the Zhongshan Hall (中山堂). There were three winners: Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture, writer/filmmaker Lei Hsiang (雷驤), and Peking opera performer Chu An-li (朱安麗).\r\n \r\nThey were chosen for their long-term contributions to enriching the city’s cultural landscape and for successfully integrating aesthetics into the daily lives of local residents. Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je likened them to seeds planted to help grow the garden of Taipei’s urban aesthetics.\r\n \r\nFirst launched in 1997, the Taipei Culture Award honors individuals and groups who have made significant contributions to promoting the richness of local culture, enhancing public participation in art events, and shaping the city’s image in the areas of literature, art, dance, and historic relics.\r\n \r\nEach year, a maximum of three winners are chosen. The winners each receive an award certificate and a cash prize of NT$500,000 from the Taipei City mayor.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nLeft to right: Chung Yung-feng, Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs; Simon Cheng, Chairman of the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture; Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je; writer and filmmaker Lei Hsiang; and Peking opera performer Chu An-li at the Taipei Culture Awards ceremony on December 4.\r\n \r\nAt the awards ceremony on December 4, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je congratulated and thanked them for creating a richer and more diverse cultural landscape for Taipei. “Since its inception in 1997, the Taipei Culture Award has been given to those who help to shape the city’s image through artistic efforts,” he said.\r\n \r\nOver the past 22 years, a total of 61 winners have received the honors. Each winner is a role model in different cultural fields.\r\n \r\nMayor Ko said that the Taishin Arts Award, supported by the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture, is one of the most important performance and visual art awards in Taiwan. It not only functions as a platform for Taiwan’s contemporary art community and international art circles, but also reminds us that the government should do more.\r\n \r\nHe praised the second winner Lei Hsiang, a documentary filmmaker, painter and writer, as an aesthetic treasure trove who has made outstanding contributions to the promotion of Taiwan’s aesthetic education.\r\n \r\n“The third recipient Chu An-li plays a significant role in the promotion of Peking Opera in Taiwan and passing on this priceless tradition to younger performers,” Ko said, “and I hope that fledgling artists get inspired by these three winners who are like seeds that grow the city’s urban aesthetics.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nProfessor Liao Yu-hui, a jury member of the 22nd Taipei Culture Award, delivers a speech.\r\n \r\nCorporate social commitment to contemporary arts\r\n \r\nThomas Wu, chairman of Taishin Financial Holding Co., established the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture in 2001 to promote creativity and artistic sense which for him were the best expressions of stability and prosperity in society. The foundation is dedicated to creating an environment for artistic development. Wu’s vision was to inspire, nurture, and spread the spirit of the times through corporate social commitment in support of the contemporary arts. According to the foundation’s mission statement, it is the arts that capture the diverse social trends and rapid evolution of the twenty-first century.\r\n \r\nIn 2002, the foundation initiated the Taishin Arts Award, which recognizes creative achievements in works of visual, performing and inter-disciplinary arts. Its unique selection process includes year-round nominations by professionals, release of observations and art reviews, and yearly involvement of international jurors.\r\n \r\nIn addition to its importance in recognizing professional creative achievements in Taiwan, the Taishin Arts Award is also dedicated to establishing a platform enabling international networking for contemporary Taiwanese artists. Taishin’s Annual Grand Prize is a NT$1.5 million monetary award and trophy; the Taishin Performing Arts Award is a NT$1 million monetary award and trophy; and the Taishin Visual Arts Award is a NT$1 million monetary award and trophy.\r\n \r\nOver the past 16 years, the foundation has spared no effort to create an environment for artistic development and strengthen Taipei’s creative landscape by holding dozens of exhibitions and music concerts every year. The DOCA said that the foundation was honored for its dedication to promoting contemporary art in Taiwan and encouraging local art creation.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nPerformers from the Bulareyaung Dance Company perform LUNA (路吶),\r\nthe latest work of Taiwanese indigenous choreographer Bulareyaung Pagarlava.\r\n \r\nA sincere and selfless teacher\r\n \r\nWriter and filmmaker Lei Hsiang was born in Shanghai in 1939. He graduated from the Department of Arts of the National Taipei University of Education (formerly Taiwan Provincial Junior Teachers’ College). He is a writer, painter, and documentary film director.\r\n \r\nIn his youth, Lei Hsiang worked as art illustrator for newspaper supplements. He also wrote articles that won the admiration of readers. His later illustrations and writings full of candid honesty reflected a more mature vision of society. He eventually taught aesthetics at the community university and promoted adult education.\r\n \r\nHe also taught arts management at the Taipei National University of the Arts where his students found in him a sincere and selfless teacher. He taught painting to children whose schools were destroyed by the 921 earthquake and gave painting classes to the deaf. For him, anyone, at any age could discover the joy of life in painting and creativity.\r\n \r\nLei Hsiang is credited for his impressive output of award-winning books and films and his work as an arts educator, the city government said. He has published 35 books and produced around 300 documentaries, TV shows and short films. His books always focus on the life and fate, plus joys and sorrows of ordinary people in Taiwan from the 1970s to the present.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nSinger-songwriter Summer Lei sings the song “The Light of Darkness,” dedicated\r\nto her father Lei Hsiang and other winners.\r\n \r\nTaiwan’s pillar of Peking opera\r\n \r\nPeking opera performer Chu An-li was born in 1963 in Nantou County. At ten years old, she left her Taiya tribe, studied Peking opera with the Opera School of the ROC Army (陸光劇校), and took on a performer’s name – Ju Shengli (朱勝麗). After finishing opera school, Chu joined the state-backed GuoGuang Opera Company and stayed on as a Peking opera performer for 45 years. She strove to improve her work and took on the task of preserving and transmitting this traditional art. She is truly a pillar of Peking opera in Taiwan.\r\n \r\nIn 2007, Chu performed in a musical drama by Taiwan’s famed Ju Percussion Group. The 90-minute piece, MuLan (木蘭), tells the story of Hua Mulan (花木蘭), a legendary Chinese figure who disguised herself as a man to fight in wars in the place of her elderly father and dramatizes her return from the battlefield a decade later.\r\n \r\nThe drama was a collaboration between Ju Percussion Group and Lee Shiao-pin (李小平), a theater director with the GuoGuang Opera Company. Mulan’s character was played by two performers – Ju Shengli and Wu Pei-ching (吳珮菁), a xylophone player and principal percussionist at the Ju Percussion Group.\r\n \r\nThe DOCA said that Chu was awarded for devoting more than four decades of her life to Peking opera and invigorating the traditional art by working with contemporary forms including experimental theater and a percussion ensemble.\r\n \r\nIn recent years, Chu has not only committed herself to nurturing new talent for the traditional arts, but also promoted Peking opera by teaching it at colleges, communities and companies around the island.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nThe GuoGuang Opera Company’s young performers demonstrate their Peking opera acting skills\r\nto show their gratitude to their sincere and selfless teacher Chu An-li.\r\n \r\nPerformances to show gratitude\r\n \r\nWriter and columnist Wang Wenhua emceed the Taipei Culture Awards. The organizers arranged three short performances to pay tribute to the three winners.\r\n \r\nThe first show was LUNA (路吶) – the latest work of Taiwanese indigenous choreographer Bulareyaung Pagarlava (布拉瑞揚．帕格勒法), his creation for his Bulareyaung Dance Company (BDC, 布拉瑞揚舞團). It opens with a performance by the Luluna Bunun Choir (羅娜薪傳音樂團) from Luluna Village in Nantou County’s Xinyi Township. The choreographer combined dance and music to convey the spirit of Pasibutbut – the resounding eight part harmony that the Bunun sing to pray for crop harvest after the seeding festival. The ballad has been listed in the World Cultural Heritage of Humanity.\r\n \r\nThe BDC, a contemporary dance group founded to discover and nurture talent of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, just received the 16th Taishin Performing Arts Award this year.\r\n \r\nThe second performance was given by Lei Hsiang’s daughter, Summer Lei (雷光夏). One of her best childhood memories was that her father serving as a primary school teacher often took her to stroll by the sea and listen to the sound of the sea. That’s why she wrote the song “The Light of Darkness,” dedicated to her father.\r\n \r\nLastly, young performers from the GuoGuang Opera Company appeared on stage to demonstrate the acting skills of Peking opera and express their gratitude to their sincere and selfless teacher Chu An-li.

By Leo R. Maliksi\r\n \r\nTaipei Music Center (TMC), also known as Taipei Pop Music Center, held a press conference on December 5 to present the key vision of its corporate identity system (CIS). TMC’s performance hall is scheduled to open in the 4th quarter of next year at Nangang.\r\n \r\nAfter a 10-year planning and construction period, Taiwan’s first popular music center is located on the north-east side of the intersection of Xiangyang Road (向陽路) and Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路), between the Taiwan railway Nangang Station and the MRT Kunyang Station of Bannan Line (板南線).\r\n\r\nIt is a transportation hub (with total area of 8.96 hectares) where you find the TRA, THSR, and MRT lines. Civic Boulevard (市民大道) divides the TMC into its Northern Site and Southern Site. It has three main buildings: the Performance Hall, the Pop Music Culture Hall, and the Industrial Hall, all connected by pedestrian walkway bridges.\r\n \r\nThe Ministry of Culture funded the construction of TMC and the Taipei City Government’s Department of Culture oversaw its construction. \r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nWang Zhizheng (王志錚) is the assistant director of the MoC’s\r\nFilm and Music Development Department.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nTaipei City Vice Mayor Chen Jingjun (陳景峻)\r\n \r\nThe Key Vision CIS press conference was attended by the following: Wang Zhizheng (王志錚), assistant director of the MoC’s Film and Music Development Department, Chen Jingjun (陳景峻), Taipei City vice mayor, Chung Yungfeng (鍾永豐), commissioner of Taipei City Government Department of Culture, Ding Dulan (丁度嵐), director of TMC’s preparatory committee, Fang Xuzhong (方序中), head designer of the CIS Key Vision, and Chen Yiren (陳奕仁), official trailer production coordinator.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nQiu Huansheng (邱煥升), graphics coordinator and director, talks about some of the\r\ngraphic elements in TMC’s Key Vision.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nFrom left, DOCA Commissioner Chung Yungfeng (鍾永豐); Taipei City Vice Mayor Chen Jingjun; Wang Zhizheng, assistant director of the MoC’s Film and Music Development Department; and Fang Xuzhong (方序中), head designer of the CIS Key Vision.\r\n\r\n“I would like to thank the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Public Works Department of the Taipei City Government for completing this project,” said Wang Zhizheng. “They have succeeded in filling in the need for a large performance venue in Taipei.”\r\n \r\n“This is similar to how a singer grows in her art. She first performs for an audience of 200 and then 1,000; she soon finds that she needs a space for 3,000 and finally, she needs to hold her performance at the Taipei Arena that can accommodate 6,000.”\r\n \r\nTMC plays an important role in the development of popular music, he said.\r\n \r\nTMC has two primary venues: the open-air Oculus, accommodating 13,000 fans under an open sky, and the indoor Main Hall, with occupancy for 5,600. Leading to the Main Hall, there is an amphitheater where spontaneous performances and social gatherings could be held.

Rewritten by Leo R. Maliksi\r\n \r\nThe two-day “2018 Cultural Leadership Forum: Present Your Strategy” organized by Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) concluded on Saturday, December 1. Cultural leaders from the Netherlands, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan attended the forum and discussed strategies on harnessing creative energy to achieve cultural leadership. This was the third year for the forum and more than 600 people signed up to attend.\r\n \r\nDOCA Commissioner Chung Yung-feng (鍾永豐) welcomed the foreign participants during the opening ceremony and said that Taipei enjoys robust cultural leadership in many areas. “At DOCA, we don’t just lead a cultural organization, but organize cultural leaders,” he said.\r\n \r\nThe Italian political thinker Antonio Francesco Gramsci said that leadership involved complex relationships. He asked how could intellectuals become “organic intellectuals”?\r\n \r\nWe need to view the complexity of social politics and the dynamics of change through the prism of philosophy, sociology, and psychology, said Chung. “What we see may not necessarily make us happy, but only in this way could we be open to the historical process, to multicultural development. We can thus maintain an open mind and reach a consensus.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA \r\nDOCA Commissioner Chung Yung-feng (鍾永豐) welcomes foreign participants\r\nduring the opening ceremony and shares his own experiences in cultural leadership.\r\n \r\nOn November 30, the Forum’s theme was “The Global Influence of Cultural Leaders.” Mr. Paul Tan, the Vice Chairman of Singapore’s National Arts Council, DOCA Commissioner Chung, Taipei Fine Arts Museum Director Lin Ping, and Mr. Zhang Jiyi, chairman of Taiwan Creative Design Center discussed the public nature of cultural leadership and cultural policy.\r\n \r\nMr. Tan spoke about “Our SG Arts Plan 2018-2022” that he said would have much influence in promoting greater diversity, artistic originality, and social cohesion. The plan is also in harmony with global trends.\r\n \r\nCommissioner Chung spoke about the influence of cultural policies on the population. TFAM Director Lin shared her thoughts on “Post-Nature: The Museum as an Ecosystem,” this year’s theme of the Taipei Biennale. Mr. Zhang Jiyi, who had worked as Taitung County Asst. Magistrate and director of that county’s Cultural Bureau shared how he promoted the cultural policies of the Taitung municipal government.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA \r\nLeft to right: Mr. Zhang Jiyi, chairman of Taiwan Creative Design Center, Taipei National University of the Arts Prof. Yiwei Geng (耿一偉), Singapore’s National Arts Council Vice Chairman Paul Tan, DOCA Commissioner Chung, TFAM Director Ping Lin, INXO Arts & Culture Foundation Executive Director Joyce Tang, Ms. Wendy Teo Boon Ting, founder and curator of Borneo Arts Collective, Shankou Province (Japan) Marketing Consultant Genki Desuka, and Mr. Frank Kresin.\r\n\r\nThe second session of the Forum was “The Mission and Responsibilities of a Cultural Organization.” Ms. Joyce Tang, executive director of INXO Arts & Culture Foundation, Mr. Paul Tan, and Mr. Ju Tzong-ching, chairman of the National Performing Arts Center discussed how cultural organizations influence the society at large.\r\n \r\nOn December 1, discussions focused on cultural activities organized by civil society. Frank Kresin, the first speaker, had much experience in the use of new technologies for social goals such as the empowerment of (disabled) users, and enhancing education and development through the use of modern technology. Mr. Kresin discussed the issue of social innovation and the concept of the Flipped Classroom with Ozzie Su, founder of Za Share and Plan-b, an advisory group that promotes sustainable design.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA \r\nMore than 600 people signed up to attend this year’s Forum.\r\n \r\nMr. Kresin first defined the activities of cultural leaders, be they government cultural organizations or small and medium private enterprises. He said that cultural leaders face a myriad of challenges. They need to understand the needs of their audiences. They need to build capable teams, take risks, and nurture creativity. They need to acquire a sustainable influence on society.

By Leo Maliksi\r\n \r\nTaipei City Archives (TCA), an affiliate organization of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA), has preserved and promoted the history of Taipei since its establishment in June 1952.\r\n \r\nOn March 15, 2014, it moved to its present location on Zhonghua Rd. in Ximenting, the former site of the Nishi Honganji Temple built during the Japanese occupation period. It moved 7 times before settling at this lesser-known historical site that is now a park where families and old people spend their time.\r\n \r\nSupervised by DOCA, Taipei City Archives has shifted its focus on research and publications on this city’s history to managing exhibitions and engaging with local residents of Wanhua, a district that pulsates with the life of historical Taipei.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nSu-jane Chan is the director of the Taipei City Archives.\r\n\r\nTCA organized a series of activities from September 15 to October 27 on the topic of Modernology (城市考現學), a branch of sociology that studies the changes in cityscape and their impact on urban dwellers.\r\n \r\nA school of thought founded by Wajiro Kon (今和次郎 Kon Wajirō, July 10, 1888 – October 27, 1973), Modernology started in the 1910s and developed through the 1960s. Kon was a Japanese architect, designer, and educator who turned his attention to urban life as he recorded post-disaster conditions in Tokyo after Japan’s Great Kanto earthquake in 1923 (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-japan-earthquake-of-1923-1764539/).\r\n \r\nIn Japan, architecture first developed as a branch of engineering. Kon conducted research on the decoration, ethnography, geography, fashion, and people's lifestyles. Instead of focusing on architecture as material structure, Kon focused on its relationship to everyday life and society. He saw the need to think about architecture from the standpoint of culture.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nOn March 15, 2014, it moved to its present location on Zhonghua Rd. in Ximenting,\r\nthe former site of the Nishi Honganji Temple built during the Japanese occupation period.\r\n \r\nModernology is thus the study from a variety of different angles, of the current state of a city and of the lifestyles and customs of its residents. It is the acquisition of a new point of view that shifts attention to the creativity of the masses. That creativity is considered in the context of art, by reexamining the lifestyles and creations of the people.\r\n \r\n“We all know how a guide would take tourists through the streets and explain the history behind the sites they would visit,” said Su-jane Chan, the director of the Taipei City Archives. “Modernology differs from this usual practice by having the guide speak more about the present conditions of a place instead of just its history.”\r\n \r\nIn September, TCA invited Prof. Keyio Fujihara of Kyushu University as speaker to inaugurate the series of eight activities on Modernology.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nThis gazebo was a part of the Nishi Honganji Temple.\r\n \r\nBaodou Village (寶斗里)\r\n \r\nOn September 29, Professor Bofen Dai (戴伯芬) of Fujen Catholic University led a group of students to Baodou Village. Professor Dai reminded her listeners that on August 2, 2014, the residents of Baodao witnessed the demolition of the Qingyun Pavilion (青雲閣), the last brothel (公娼館) of this historic Taipei village.\r\n \r\nQingyun Pavilion is emblematic of the modern transformation of Baodou Village in the Wanhua District of Taipei. A three-story Baroque structure, it was built in 1899, four years after Japan invaded Taiwan. It was considered Taiwan’s largest existing artistic structure until the 1970s.\r\n \r\nAn 1896 decree issued by the colonial government defined Wanhua as the official red light district of the city and forbade the sex trade in other districts of the city. The Japanese government declared two other districts as the entertainment venues for its soldiers – Danshui and Jilong.\r\n \r\nSanjiaodu (三腳渡)\r\n \r\nOn October 6, Mr. Zhao Qiao (趙喬), a lecturer in the Continuing Education Department of Chinese Culture University, took some tourists to Sanjiaodu, a village located in Hougangqian (後港墘). In 1990, Hougangqian was divided into six villages: Hougang, Fuzhong, Qiangang, Fuhua, Bailing, and Chengde. Hougangqian stands next to Shizi, Jiantan, and Dalongtong.\r\n \r\nIn the 18th century, Sanjiaodu was a village with a harbor on the banks of one of the tributaries of the Danshui River. In addition to farming, villagers made a living by fishing and raising ducks and clams.\r\n \r\nWith the rehabilitation of the Danshui River, the harbor gradually fell into disuse and relegated to the pages of history. Sanjiaodu is still the only fishing village in Taipei City and across from it is the Yuanshan Dock. But instead of fishing, many of its residents now work at making dragon boats used for racing during the Dragon Boat Festival.\r\n \r\nLittle Phiippines on Zhongshan N. Road (中山北路小菲律賓)\r\n \r\nThere are over 600,000 Southeast Asian workers in Taiwan; 130,000 come from the Philippines. Many Filipinos work as caregivers for Taiwan’s ageing population or as nannies for the toddlers of busy Taiwan parents. Others work in factories or at construction sites.\r\n \r\nFor the Taiwanese, Zhongshan North Road is home to bridal gown shops, luxury goods boutiques, and five-star hotels. But few people know that the area covered by Mintzu East Road to Nongan Street along Zhongshan N. Rd. is a commercial area that caters to many “kabayans” in Taiwan. Filipinos come here to rest from a week of hard work.\r\n \r\nTake the MRT to the Yuanshan Station on any Sunday and you will see vigorous smiles and hear the sound of laughter as these Southeast Asians transform this area of Zhongshan N. Road into a lively market where they buy Taiwan products at affordable prices. Enter a restaurant or stand beside a food stall and you can hear Tagalog spoken. Walk further down and you will see St. Christopher’s Church, the meeting place for Filipinos in Taipei.\r\n \r\nBuilt in 1957 the church was meant to provide English language Masses for the American soldiers stationed in Taipei as military advisers. With the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Taiwan, St. Christopher’s gradually became the Filipino church in Taipei. As the number of Filipinos grew, the church started to offer Masses in Tagalog and its surroundings evolved into a business district similar to that found around temples in Taipei.\r\n \r\nTaipei City Archives wanted to take students and tourists to experience some of the areas of the city and to know the historical events that led to its present appearance. Besides the three tours above, TCA also organized a trip to the Wanhua Sugar Factory (糖廍里) located at the end of Dali Street in Wanhua. Built in 1911, it used to be a sugar factory during the Japanese Occupation period. After the Second World War, Taiwan Sugar Company used it as a sugar storage room.\r\n \r\nTaipei’s Bridal Gown Street (婚紗街)\r\n \r\nOther tours included the furniture shops along Wenchang Street (文昌街家具街) near the Guting MRT Station. When they move in to a new residence, Taipei-rens know that they will find the furniture they’re looking for in one of the shops along this street.\r\n \r\nTaipei’s Bridal Gown Street (婚紗街) is another destination that will give students of modernology another view of modern Taipei. In traditional Chinese culture, marriage is an important event in life (終身大事) and the bridal gown is its enduring memento. Eager brides will find them here.\r\n \r\nThose who enjoy cosplay will find the costumes of their dreams at the Ximending Theatrical Costumes Street (西門町戲劇服裝街). The availability of costumes for both traditional Chinese theater and cosplay further confirms the transformation of Taipei into a modern city.\r\n \r\nWord processing programs on laptops or desktops have made writing Chinese characters as easy as typing in any western language. But there was a time when printing a book or newspaper was only possible with the use of cast metal typefaces. And these were mostly made in what Taipei residents know as the Metal Typefaces Street (日星鑄字行).\r\n \r\nThese were the eight modernology tours that the TCA organized from September 29 to October 27. For more information on TCA’s Modernology activities, please visit https://www.chr.gov.taipei/

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nTaipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) announced that artist Shu Lea Cheang will represent Taiwan at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019. The Taiwanese artist will be the first woman to represent Taiwan in Venice, with a solo presentation curated by Spanish philosopher Paul B. Preciado.\r\n \r\nCheang’s presentation, titled 3x3x6 (in reference to the new architectural model of industrial prisons: a nine meter cell monitored by six cameras), takes the form of a new multimedia research project including images, installations, and computer programming. This project combines the past and present, plus the real and virtual worlds.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nLeft to right, Taipei Fine Arts Museum Director Lin Ping, Taiwan’s artist Shu Lea Cheang, and Spanish philosopher Paul B. Preciado announce that Cheang’s work, titled 3x3x6, will represent Taiwan at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nTaiwan’s multimedia artist Shu Lea Cheang has worked in the fields of net-based installation, social interface, and film production.\r\n\r\nBorn in 1954, Cheang grew up in Taiwan, developing her art career in the U.S. and Europe. Internationally recognized as an Internet art pioneer, Cheang combines the critical and visual traditions coming from feminist and queer cultures with cutting-edge digital technologies and computer programs to create her performative artworks online and offline.\r\n \r\n“Over the past three decades, my creations have always focused on the undoing of normative representations of gender, sexuality, and race,” Cheang said.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nPaul B. Preciado, born in Spain, is a contemporary writer, philosopher and curator whose works focus on applied and theoretical topics relating to identity, gender, pornography, architecture, and sexuality.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nLeft to right, Taiwan’s multimedia artist Shu Lea Cheang introduces her team members\r\nYang Po-hsien and Tsai Hong-hsien for the Taiwan Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019.\r\n \r\nShe also said that her piece, titled 3x3x6, had been inspired by the exhibition venue, Palazzo delle Prigioni – a Venetian government prison in the 16th century. Her work tries to highlight transgender issues by exploring crime and punishment, modern imprisonment and surveillance devices, as well as 10 historical figures (including Giacomo Casanova, Michel Foucault, and Marquis de Sade) imprisoned due to their sexual orientation and nonconformity.\r\n \r\n“Cheang forces visitors to interrogate the distance between punishment and pleasure, between surveillance and lust,” said Preciado, who serves as the curator of Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2019.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nShu Lea Cheang’s presentation, titled 3x3x6, will represent Taiwan at the\r\n58th Venice Biennale in 2019.\r\n \r\n“Her work 3x3x6 explores the relationship between political punishment and sexual enjoyment, between modes of seeing and processes of subject production. Inverting the watchful eyes of our panoptic society to partake in an empowering collective vision, the exhibition aims to reinvent desire and pleasure beyond hegemonic norms.”\r\n \r\nThe 58th Venice Biennale is to take place from May 11 through November 24 next year.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nThe 13th Digital Art Festival Taipei kicked off on November 22 with a performance by SEMISCON Vocal Band that featured a cappella singing and dancing with a robotic chair.\r\n \r\nThemed “Trans-robotics” (超機體), this year’s festival features a selection of artworks from Taiwan and overseas. They seek to convey the evolution and transcendence of robotic technology and artistic creation.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DAFT\r\nChung Yung-feng (sixth from right), Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, announces the kickoff of the 13th Digital Art Festival Taipei, which will run until December 1, 2018.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DAFT\r\nChung Yung-feng (second from left), Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, watches The Big Picture, created by Robotlab of ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe.\r\n\r\nAccording to Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the festival includes a central exhibition and a comprehensive program of talks, workshops and film screenings. All events are free and open to the public.\r\n \r\nAt the core of the festival’s curatorial concept is a reflection of the relationship between robots, artificial intelligence, and humans. The word robot first appeared in the 1920 play Rossum’s Universal Robots, in which the word “robota” represented forced labor.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DAFT\r\nThe Big Picture, created by Robotlab of ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, is one of the highlights of the 13th Digital Art Festival Taipei.\r\n \r\nThe show seeks to steer away from this classical idea of subservient robotics and imagines a future when machines gain sensory capabilities that are beyond human beings, said curator Lo Ho-lin (羅禾淋).\r\n \r\nShow highlights include The Big Picture, created by Robotlab of ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. This piece is a time-based project that entails a month-long drawing performance of a Martian landscape by a robot arm.\r\n \r\nBy this inimitable technique, the robot arm creates a unique artwork with a high level of detail and precision. Hundreds of kilometers of an abstract line converge towards a photorealistic image.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DAFT\r\nUpload not Complete, created by Taiwan artists Hu Chin-hsiang and Tsai Bing-hua.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DAFT\r\nWhat’s Your Flavor? created by Taiwan’s digital artists Tseng Yu-chuan and Lin Hao-chiang.\r\n \r\nIn 1964, Nam June Paik and Shuya Abe created one of the first art robots – Robot K-456 – which was originally intended to be a 30-channel radio-controlled robot, but ended up as a 20-channel radio-controlled anthropomorphic robot.\r\n \r\nThe robot was purpose-built for street actions. It not only represented the early stage of the development of digital and technological arts, but was also a classical example of art robots that had become the target of artists’ thinking and creation.\r\n \r\nThe exhibition also includes multidisciplinary works delving into sensory dimensions such as the five senses, the heart and performance art.\r\n \r\nFor more information, please go to http://digitalarts-festival.taipei/

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nTaipei Biennial 2018 kicked off on November 17 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), and will run until March 10, 2019. The four-month exhibition is showcasing a great range of excellent artworks by 42 participants and participating groups from 19 countries.\r\n \r\nApart from the exhibition, the TFAM also held a seminar between November 17 and 18. World-renowned speakers took part in this seminar that dealt with a wide variety of issues, such as “Re-naturalizing Citizenship” and “Democratizing Boundaries.”\r\n \r\nTaiwanese artist Wu Mali and Francesco Manacorda, currently artistic director of the V-A-C Foundation and visiting professor at LJMU School of Art and Design in Liverpool, served as co-curators of the 11th Taipei Biennial in 2018.\r\n \r\nThemed “Post-Nature: A Museum as An Ecosystem,” this year’s biennial focuses on the interconnectivity between eco-systemic structures, humans and nature. The objective is for the biennial to function as a platform for social experiments and generate new interdisciplinary possibilities for long-lasting, community-driven, and bottom-up synergies.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nLeft to right, the V-A-C Foundation Director Francesco Manacorda, Taipei Fine Arts Museum Director Ling Ping, and Taiwan’s artist Wu Mali announce the kickoff of Taipei Biennial on November 17, 2018.\r\n\r\nIn an effort to achieve this core curatorial vision, the two curators invited a diversified line-up of participants from visual artists to architects, video workers, non-profit organizations (NGOs), and social activists to enhance cross-disciplinary communication and exchange.\r\n \r\n“For this year’s biennial, we adopted a ‘creative practitioners’ approach to select participants and to assess their final presentations,” said Wu.\r\n \r\nIn addition to the strong line-up of artists, this year’s biennial features outstanding artworks and projects. Under the theme of combining “post-nature” and “ecosystem,” the creations touch on the relationship between humans and environmental ecology. They explore the impact of alien species on local ecology, environmental issues, land and air pollution, as well as climate and environmental change.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nAu Sow-yee’s installation work, A Love Story of Life and Death: Coconut Forest, Belle of Penang, and Intelligence Agent (2018), describes an unlikely romance between a missing intelligence agent and the “Belle of Penang” (Bin Cheng Yan).\r\n \r\nA wide array of topics will be presented in the exhibition hall to invite an open dialogue that allows the TFAM to function as a platform for discussions and exchange of ideas. This is one way of responding to the curatorial proposition of “A Museum as An Ecosystem.”\r\n \r\n“Conversations and exchange of ideas between participants and participating groups from different fields are at the very center of the biennial’s structure and methodology this year,” Manacorda said.\r\n \r\n“Re-negotiating the interdependence between human beings and the natural environment is the backbone of this year’s seminar. We hope that through this biennial, visitors can be inspired to find new perspectives and solutions for a more sustainable future.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nCandice Lin’s installation work, La Charada China (2018), is composed of poppy flowers, sugarcane, poisonous plants from the Caribbean, and an anthropomorphic-shaped mound.\r\n\r\nHighlights of this year’s biennial include Anthropocene (2018), created by Ruangsak Anuwatwimon (1975, Thailand). Anthropocene is a rolling landscape of twenty delicately-colored overlapping mounds of polluted soil collected from around Taiwan.\r\n \r\nAnuwatwimon used his work to express the close link between land ethics and human morality. “Human civilization is less than a million years old. But chemical residues in every corner of the globe have been accumulated in layers of soil and may remain indefinitely,” he said. “I hope that human beings can solve the current problem and work for a long-term sustainable future.”\r\n \r\nAu Sow-yee (1978, Malaysia) created a three-channel video and sound installation – A Love Story of Life and Death: Coconut Forest, Belle of Penang, and Intelligence Agent (2018). Set in the period of Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945 and re-creating the Southern Pavilion of the 1935 Taiwan Exposition as theater setting, the film describes an unlikely romance between a missing intelligence agent and the “Belle of Penang” (Bin Cheng Yan).\r\n \r\nIn the early twentieth century, the imperial Japanese government attempted to transform Taiwan into a base to make preparations for further expansion into Southeast Asia. Au’s work invites viewers to re-imagine the political and botanical connections between Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia.\r\n \r\nFan Chin-hui (1965, Taiwan) has been recording Taiwan’s natural soundscapes since the age of 7. Over the past few decades, she has developed more sensitive methods of listening to nature and land.\r\n \r\nIn 2013, she launched the “Silent Trail Project,” to promote the protection of natural soundscapes. Her Taipei Biennial presentation is “Yuanshan Sound Walk.” This is a sensory walk along the paths within the painting Scenery Near Yuanshan – a 1928 creation of Taiwanese artist Kuo Hsueh-hu. During this imaginative walking tour, visitors can open their ears and hearts and awaken their five senses to better perceive the small yet unseen changes in that environment.\r\n \r\nLa Charada China (2018), created by Candice Lin (1979, the U.S.), focuses on how plants are intertwined with human life. Lin’s installation work is composed of poppy flowers, sugarcane, and poisonous plants from the Caribbean. The center of her work is an anthropomorphic-shaped mound of soil with red clay and guano. During the exhibition, these plants will be watered every day to grow.\r\n \r\nLin used her work to trace how opium addiction was weaponized and how Europeans employed opium poppy as a bio-political means to gain trade advantages. This piece of installation refers to issues such as forced labor, immigration, and human trafficking that have been deeply embedded in social structures.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nAfter visiting a tea plantation in the Lala Mountain in northern Taiwan, the Argentine-Swiss artist Vivian Suter adds the first impressions of Taiwan’s landscape into her works for Taipei Biennial 2018.\r\n\r\nVivian Suter (1949, Argentina) lives and works in the southwestern Guatemalan Highlands. Her creations always use natural elements, such as rain, wind, mud, plants, and insects instead of pictorial landscapes or illustrative portraits. She portrays nature and expresses her intuitive emotions about the environment. Her creative style is deeply influenced by the four seasons and dramatic changes in nature.\r\n \r\nFor this year’s biennial in Taipei, Suter produced a series of paintings after visiting a tea plantation in the Lala Mountain in northern Taiwan. She spent several days making the paintings that express her first impressions of Taiwan’s landscape.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nIn Henrik Håkansson’s work, Inverted Tree (Reflected), a local tree is hung upside down and transformed into a sculpture to imply that humans have exploited trees and natural resources.\r\n \r\nLocated at the entrance of the Taipei-based museum is Henrik Håkansson’s (1968, Sweden) ongoing work – Inverted Tree (Reflected). A local tree hangs upside down and is presented as a sculpture. The artist used the Duchampian concepts of projection, chance, and metaphor to imply that trees and natural resources have been exploited by humans.\r\n \r\nOn one hand, Inverted Tree (Reflected) represents nature in an experimentally transformational way, both Manacorda and Håkansson said. On the other hand, it expresses how a tree strengthens the environment in which it grows. Double mirrors create the impression of infinite space where we find the dichotomy between life and death, concreteness and abstraction, organization and chaos. However, such contracts actually work towards coherence rather than opposition.\r\n \r\nFounded in 2006, Taiwan Thousand Miles Trail Association is committed to protecting the beauty of Taiwan’s mountains, seas, and cultural heritage. Over the years, the association has held a series of walking tours and seminars. They hope to awaken people’s consciousness and have a good relationship with nature.\r\n \r\nFor this year’s biennial, the association not only showcases their plans for the future and the results of their research in the last few decades. They also have a number of walking tours and seminars during the exhibition.\r\n \r\nThree walking tours are set to take place in December. The first tour includes “From Kuo Hsueh-hu’s Scenery Near Yuanshan (1928) to There’s a Paradise in Yuanshan (1987),” which explores the Jiantanshan Trail and Yuanshan Water Shrine. The second and third ones are “Saving Urban Ecological Islands” and “Going into Taipei City through the Century-Old Danlan Trail.”\r\n \r\nThe TFAM director Ling Ping said that this year’s biennial had turned its attention from identity recognition, political and global financial crises, advanced information, and technology developments to environmental protection and human survival.\r\n \r\nTFAM is essentially the central nervous system of the Taipei Biennial. “Through experimental approaches, the museum has become a platform for cross-disciplinary discussions across professional fields. We believe that the biennial will continue to arouse serious and careful thought on environmental responsibility in the new era,” she said.

\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nTaipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs promotes aesthetic education at\r\nLongshan Elementary School in Taipei’s Wanhua District.\r\n\r\nBy Yali Chen\r\n \r\nTaipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) continues to promote aesthetic education in elementary schools in 2018. A total of 70 second-graders and third-graders at Longshan Elementary School in Taipei’s Wanhua District were selected to participate in this year’s experimental arts program.\r\n \r\n“If we want children to value art, we must give them access to it early in life. To foster a love of art in children, we must teach it at primary school,” DOCA Project Manager Wei Pang said. “This new arts program aims to help students in second and third grades to learn color aesthetics through a series of aesthetic activities.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nSecond-graders at Longshan Elementary School in Taipei’s Wanhua District\r\nlearn color aesthetics in class.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nHsu Chao-hsiung, a specialist teacher of the Children’s Art Museum in Taipei,\r\nteaches young students how to paint and draw by observing Hercules beetles.\r\n\r\nDOCA commissioned the Children’s Art Museum in Taipei to carry out this experimental program at Longshan Elementary School.\r\n \r\n“Primary school art lessons often happen in the classroom with class teachers, rather than a specialist teacher. Many elementary schools in Taipei lack art teachers, so we help to teach these children color aesthetics once a week,” the museum’s director Huang Mei-ling said. “If we get young children interested in fine arts, they will learn how to appreciate the beauty of art.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nHuang Mei-ling (right), Director of the Children’s Art Museum in Taipei, designs a series\r\nof art lessons to help young students learn how to paint and draw.\r\n \r\nA series of the step-by-step art lessons teach young students everything they need to paint and draw. In class, they learn primary colors, warm colors, cool colors, adjacent colors, complementary colors, and gray scale.\r\n \r\n“We’ll also teach them how to paint with watercolors and wax crayons, as well as how to mix colors through observation,” Huang said.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nChen Ling-zhu (right) teaches second grade at Longshan Elementary School\r\nand believes that young children can benefit from aesthetic education.\r\n \r\n“I found that children show many creative ideas in their paintings, and that they are more sensitive to light and colors,” said Chen Ling-zhu, who teaches second grade at Longshan Elementary School. “After completing a painting piece, young students will be more confident in themselves.”\r\n \r\nChen believes that art education can also help young children to express themselves, develop the skills of communication and problem solving, and learn how to share their insights with their teacher and other students.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nThe Society of Children’s Literature, R. O. C. (SCLROC) received an award from Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) in 2016 for its long-time dedication to research and promotion of children’s books.\r\n \r\nOn November 1, 2018, the DOCA gave them another award in recognition of their work and launched a recently published book. The ceremony kicked off with a series of performances by a choir of the Taipei Municipal Dongmen Elementary School and FunSpace Experimental Education Group, led by Hsieh Hung-wen – a writer who has been working on children’s literature for many years.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nChung Yung-feng, Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, gives\r\na speech at an awards ceremony and a book launch in Taipei on November 1, 2018.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nYu Pei-yun (right), Chairwoman of the Society of Children’s Literature, R. O. C.,\r\nreceives an award from DOCA Chairman Chung.\r\n\r\nIn his speech, the DOCA Commissioner Chung Yung-feng said that since its inception in Taipei in 1984, the SCLROC has always been committed to research and promotion of children’s books. “I’d like to thank you for your contributions and long-term efforts,” he said.\r\n \r\nThe commissioner also expressed his appreciation for Wen-Hsun Magazine Chairwoman Feng De-bing’s help to compile a wealth of data for three new books on children’s literature during the period of Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945.\r\n \r\n“We all know that it’s hard to pull together information from the 1920s,” Chung said. “Thanks to Ms. Feng’s extensive database and network of contacts, this difficult task was accomplished.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nTaipei Municipal Dongmen Elementary School Choir sings a couple of nursery rhymes\r\nat an awards ceremony in Taipei on November 1, 2018.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nThe Society of Children’s Literature, R. O. C. is located at No.44, Jiuquan St.,\r\nDatong Dist., Taipei City.\r\n\r\nIn 1983, Lin Huan-chang, a children’s book author born in Yilan County, was one of the initiators of the preparatory meeting for the society. Chairwoman Yu Pei-yun said that they first sought the support of other writers and one year later, they founded the SCLROC.\r\n \r\nOne of the most active societies that promote children’s literature in Taiwan, SCLROC holds seminars and reading clubs, runs advanced courses, and publishes a quarterly magazine. It is the 14th arts organization to receive this honor. Others include the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Artist Magazine, Echo Magazine, Lion Art Monthly, Ping-Fong Acting Troupe, and the Contemporary Legend Theatre.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nAfter two years of relocation, reconstruction and restoration, the Mitsui Warehouse in the west of Taipei has been transformed into the “House of Memories.” From October 31, 2018 to February 28, 2019, the museum will display valuable historical documents and artifacts.\r\n \r\nThe rebuilt historical monument opened to the public on November 1, 2018. On the first floor, visitors can enjoy virtual reality guided tours. The second floor has more than 400 precious historical data and items that will take visitors back to the good old days when the Mitsui Warehouse was built in 1913.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nSatoru Ohashi (right), President of Mitsui & Co (Taiwan) Ltd, presents a letter of authorization to Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je. In return, Ko later gave Mr. Ohashi a certificate of appreciation.\r\n \r\nAt the opening ceremony on October 31, several special guests kicked off the four-month exhibition: Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je, Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun, and Deputy Mayor Charles Lin, as well as Chung Yung-feng, Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA). Mr. Satoru Ohashi, President of Mitsui & Co (Taiwan) Ltd. led representatives of the Tokyo-based Mitsui Group. Some members of the Taipei Cultural Asset Review Committee were also present at this official event.\r\n \r\nThe opening ceremony began with a Taiko drumming performance by students of Taipei Municipal Peng-lai Elementary School in the Datong District.\r\n \r\nMr. Satoru presented a letter of authorization to the mayor of Taipei. The letter was the formal permission granted by the Mitsui Group for the city government to use relevant historical documents of its “North Gate Warehouse.” The warehouse was built during the period of Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945. Mayor Ko reciprocated by presenting Mr. Satoru a certificate of appreciation.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nArchitecture Prof. Kun-Chen Chang (right) of the National Taipei University of Technology (NTUT) explains to Mayor Ko the reconstruction work done.\r\n \r\nIn his speech, Ko said that the Mitsui Warehouse was one of the few buildings that displayed the Mitsui Group’s diamond-shaped trademark. He expressed appreciation that the Mitsui Group had provided a wealth of first-hand historical data, thus making its old warehouse a cultural and historical venue.\r\n \r\n“The restoration and reopening of this warehouse is an important part of the city government’s plan to rejuvenate the western part of the nation’s capital,” the mayor said, alluding to the Western Gateway Project\r\n \r\nUnder this project, the city’s North Gate is defined as an important structure foreign travelers will likely link to their impressions of Taipei. Centered on the North Gate, the western part of the city, with its historical buildings, used to be an important place for business and trade.\r\n \r\nIn the future, the city government will integrate the Mitsui Warehouse with the North Gate, the historical railway, and surrounding historical monuments. They will then become important landmarks in the Western Gateway Project.\r\n \r\n“Only the Railway Police Bureau still stands in western Taipei,” Ko said, “but it is set to relocate in June 2019. We may demolish that building one month later and then build a park in its place as soon as possible.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nThe Mitsui Warehouse in the west of Taipei has now been reopened to the public\r\nafter two years of relocation, reconstruction and restoration.\r\n \r\nThe opening of two nearby railway and postal museums has likewise been delayed for four years. Ko said that he will ask deputy mayor Charles Lin to communicate with the central government to complete the Western Gateway Project soon.\r\n \r\n“Like the Arc de Triomphe, Taipei’s North Gate will stand out as a new landmark for Taipei and a national symbol for Taiwan.”\r\n \r\nRenovation of the Mitsui Warehouse was an important part of the Western Gateway Project. This was why the mayor placed the final piece on a “North Gate” puzzle to symbolize the completion of this building in western Taipei.\r\n \r\nIn 2012, the city government listed the warehouse as a protected heritage site. But the old building had been left open and unoccupied for a long time, so its roof and floor had almost collapsed.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nFrom left to right, Satoru Ohashi, President of Mitsui & Co (Taiwan) Ltd; Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je; Taipei City Deputy Mayor Charles Lin; and Chung Yung-feng, Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, in front of a brick arch that was once part of the Mitsui Warehouse.\r\n \r\nAfter taking office in 2014, Ko pushed for the Western Gateway Project the following year. The project sought to create a new image of western Taipei. It included a renovation plan of the area around the North Gate. Using the Culture Resources Preservation Act, the Council for Cultural Affairs (now known as the Ministry of Culture) in 2005 declared this gate a national historic site.\r\n \r\nBuilt in 1884 as the “Cheng-en Gate,” it became irrelevant as the city’s transportation network developed. It regained its prominence when the Zhongxiao Bridge ramp was torn down in early 2016.\r\n \r\nOn his first night as mayor, Ko removed the special bus lane on Zhongxiao West Rd. Using the Chinese New Year holidays in 2016 to tear down the entry ramp to the Zhongxiao Bridge in six days. He thus restored the North Gate’s original glory.\r\n \r\nHoping to give the entire area a facelift, the mayor wanted to redo the exteriors of some of the old buildings around the North Gate Plaza, including the Mitsui Warehouse.\r\n \r\nThe Taipei Cultural Asset Review Committee held four meetings and a public hearing before finally deciding in May 2016 to relocate the Mitsui Warehouse. This historical monument was relocated about 51 meters east of its original site.\r\n \r\nTwo years after, the red brick warehouse finally recovered its past glory and is now the “House of Memories,” a new landmark in western Taipei.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nA selection of cultural and historical books on the first floor of the Mitsui Warehouse\r\noffers a few glimpses of western Taipei’s changing landscape.\r\n \r\nTo celebrate its reopening, the committee decided to hold a special exhibition on the history and spatial development of western Taipei through a series of VR guided tours on the first floor. Historical documents are on display on the second floor. Chang Kun-chen, a professor of architecture at the National Taipei University of Technology curated this exhibition.\r\n \r\nThe VR technology makes it possible for exhibition visitors to experience the three major landmarks during the Japanese rule – the North Gate, Railway Division of Taiwan Governor-General’s Bureau of Transportation, and Mitsui Warehouse. They can also appreciate the former beauty of these historical buildings.\r\n \r\nA selection of old photos and videos, as well as cultural and historical books, on the first floor also offers a few glimpses of the transformation of western Taipei.\r\n \r\nProfessor Chang said that the documents on display depict the transformation of western Taipei as seen through its buildings -- the North Gate, Taipei Station, North Gate Station, the Railway Division of Taiwan Governor-General’s Bureau of Transportation, Taipei Railway Workshop, Futai Street Mansion, the Central Post Office, the National Taiwan Museum, and Taipei Zhongshan Hall.\r\n \r\n“Visitors can gain a better understanding of the structural and spatial development of western Taipei through more than 400 historical data and items,” he said.\r\n \r\nFour major historical materials are being exhibited for the first time. They include the documents that Mitsui Group in Japan drafted to help rename the Mitsui Warehouse in Taipei, the original artifacts of Taipei Railway Workshop in 1908, a documentary of Mitsui senior executives’ visit to Taiwan in 1926, and the original models of the 1st generation Taipei Post Office and 2nd generation Taipei Station in 1913.\r\n \r\nExhibition Notes:\r\n\r\nWhat: Special exhibition of Mitsui Warehouse turned into “House of Memories” (三井倉庫蛻變西區記憶倉庫特展)\r\nWhen: October 31, 2018 through February 28, 2019\r\nOpen Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.\r\nClosed on Mondays\r\nWhere: Mitsui Warehouse, No. 265, Sec. 1, Zhongxiao W. Rd., Taipei\r\nAdmission: Free\r\nOn the net: https://goo.gl/RDdu59\r\nTelephone: (02) 2371-4597

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nLocated at the intersection of Ningxia Road and Jinxi Street in the Datong District, Taipei City, what used to be the Taipei North Police Station (臺北北警察署) in the Japanese era has been transformed into the Taiwan New Cultural Movement Museum (臺灣新文化運動紀念館).\r\n \r\nBuilt in 1933, the old building was previously known as the Criminal Police Corps (刑警總隊) and after the Second World War, the Datong Police Station (大同分局). In 2006, the Taipei City Government designated it as the Preparatory Office of the Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum (臺灣新文化運動紀念館籌備處) and in 2014, entrusted its reconstruction to Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA).\r\n \r\nFrom 2015, it went through a three-year restoration work and interior refurbishment. After nearly 10 months of intensive planning, the DOCA held an opening ceremony on October 14, 2018 to announce the official opening of Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nChiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation Executive Director Chiang Chao-ken (left) gives a copy of “The Formosa” magazine to Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je at the opening ceremony of Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum on October 14 in Taipei.\r\n\r\nSeveral special guests attended the opening ceremony, including the descendants of Chiang Wei-shui and Lin Hsien-tang – the representative figures of the Taiwan New Cultural Movement (臺灣新文化運動). Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je and Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun, as well as Chuang Yung-ming, the hugely prolific author of Taiwanese history and culture, also attended the ceremony.\r\n \r\nThe opening ceremony kicked off with a song, sung by a choir of the Catholic Blessed Imelda’s School (靜修女中) in Taipei. The school was founded in 1916 by the Dominican sisters. During the period of Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945, Chiang and Lin initiated a non-violent resistance against Japan. This movement garnered the name “Taiwan New Cultural Movement.” The inaugural conference of Taiwan Culture Association (臺灣文化協會) was held in what is now the auditorium of Blessed Imelda’s School.\r\n \r\nChiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation executive director Chiang Chao-ken gave a copy of “The Formosa” magazine (臺灣雜誌) to the mayor of Taipei. The magazine was published in 1922 by Chiang Wei-shui and symbolized the Taiwanese pursuit of freedom of speech during that period.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nTaipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (right) and Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun visit\r\nTaiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum.\r\n \r\nIn his speech, Mayor Ko said that the Taiwan New Cultural Movement had played an important role in the history of Taiwan. Under Japanese rule, Taiwanese intellectuals organized petition drives, founded cultural groups, published magazines, and set up political parties. Such acts enabled the general public to acquire knowledge of modern civilization, thereby producing a thriving artistic culture in Taiwan.\r\n \r\n“Some people would refer to that as the golden decade in the history of Taiwan. It was a short but splendid period,” Ko said. Taiwan’s political repression, also known as the White Terror in the 1950s, came after the Second World War.\r\n \r\n“The new cultural movement in the history of Taiwan highlighted the Taiwanese desire for freedom of speech and to keep pace with global development,” Ko said. “Their determination and perseverance deserve our respect. The Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum will help us have a deep understanding of what they have done.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nChiang Chao-ken serves as Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation executive director\r\nand is also Chiang Wei-shui’s grandson.\r\n \r\nKo said that a museum is regarded as a treasure trove of history, art and culture. Dadaocheng is a great example of how the work of preserving historical buildings in the twenties and thirties has given rise to city museums. Going for a stroll in this area one can better understand the major historic events and architectural aesthetics of different periods.\r\n \r\n“I maintain the hope that Taipei becomes both a modern city and a city with a rich history and culture,” he said. “This is our goal and needs our concerted efforts.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nTaipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (seventh from right in the first row) attends the opening ceremony\r\nof Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum on October 14 in Taipei.\r\n \r\nDadaocheng is often described as the birthplace of Taiwan’s modern thought. This historical district has become one of the well-preserved areas in Taipei and is also the site of one of the five major city museums in the capital. In the near future, the Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum will become one of the most important landmarks in Dadaocheng.\r\n \r\nHistorian Chuang Yung-ming said that throughout his life, Chiang Wei-shui was a pioneer in many ways. He founded the first Taiwanese cultural organization, “Taiwan Culture Association”; published the first Taiwanese newspaper, “Taiwan Minpao Newspaper (臺灣民報)”; set up the first Taiwanese political party “Taiwanese People’s Party (臺灣民眾黨)”; and established the first Taiwanese union, “Taiwanese Workers’ League (臺灣工友總聯盟).”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nLocated at No. 87, Ningxia Road in the Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum opened to the public on October 14.\r\n\r\nIn 1915, Chiang graduated from Taiwan Medical College (臺灣總督府醫學校), now known as the National Taiwan University College of Medicine. One of his classmates set up the first obstetrics and gynecology hospital in Taiwan, now located on Tacheng Street in the Datong District, Taipei.\r\n \r\nChuang hopes that in the future, the museum holds a special exhibition of “Dadaocheng Pioneers” to pay tribute to their heroic struggles.\r\n \r\nChiang Wei-shui’s grandson Chiang Chao-ken was glad that the Taipei North Police Station had been transformed into the museum with a touch of Taiwanese culture.\r\n \r\nIn 2003, the then DOCA commissioner Liao Hsien-hao came up with the idea of establishing the museum. After years of talks with the Datong Police Station to relocate, the city government eventually set up the preparatory office of the museum in 2006.\r\n \r\n“To commemorate Taiwan’s democratic trailblazer Chiang Wei-shui, the DOCA held more than 10 lectures, published 14 books, and released 3 albums from 2006 to 2013,” said Chiang Chao-ken, who also serves as Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation executive director.\r\n \r\nThe historic building was completed in 1933 as the Taipei North Police Station. It was designed and built by the Office of the Taiwan Governor-General during the Japanese rule. Stucco and terrazzo on this structure were considered one of the most advanced construction methods then and symbolized Japanese authority. Mosaic bricks and western columns were also integrated into the building’s façade. Inside this building were modern equipment, such as onsite sewage facilities, electric lights, and telephones. It was lauded as one of Taiwan’s iconic buildings in the thirties.\r\n \r\nAt the end of World War II, the Taipei North Police Station was taken over by the Taipei City Police Department and renamed the Datong Police Station. The building was later expanded on the south side and the third floor. During the remodeling, red and white bricks were used on the northwest façade. The Datong Police Station gradually took on a new appearance different from that of the Taipei North Police Station.\r\n \r\nIn 1998, the city government designated the building as a grade-three historic monument and handed it over to the DOCA in 2014. One year later, the DOCA began to restore the building’s original appearance. After more than two years of construction, the historic monument was not only restored to its original appearance, but also preserved some original elements, such as the only remaining fan-shaped detention room in Taiwan and a water dungeon used to torture prisoners.\r\n \r\nTo help the general public better understand the significance of the Taiwan New Cultural Movement, the DOCA set up the permanent exhibition “Light and Shadow in the Golden Age” on the first floor of the museum. It depicted the historical development of the Taiwan Culture Association and the Taiwan New Cultural Movement, as well as the restoration of this historic monument. Visitors could also see the fan-shaped detention room and water dungeon.\r\n \r\nOn the second floor, the special exhibition “The Age of Great Awakening” is divided into four categories: new literature, new drama, new music, and new songs to introduce prominent figures and their works during the new cultural movement.\r\n \r\nMost importantly, the history of the Taiwan Minpao Newspaper will be presented in a special exhibition room on the second floor. This offers a few glimpses of the Taiwanese fight for freedom of speech through the publication and circulation of this newspaper despite the censorship system during Japanese rule.\r\n \r\nFrom October 14, the two exhibitions are free and open to the public. Besides the exhibitions, the museum will also give more than 10 lectures by the end of this year. Admission is free and online advance registration is encouraged.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nThe Performosa Theatre Company (PTC) (演摩莎劇團) was chosen by Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) to represent the city at the Asian Performing Arts Forum (APAF), set to be held in Tokyo from October 29 until November 12.\r\n \r\nThe DOCA selected it as Taipei’s outstanding performing arts group due to its rich experience in international performances.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from PTC\r\n“Kaléidoscope” in 2018 is a great example of international work created by\r\nartists from Taiwan, Macao and France.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from PTC\r\nOne scene of “Kaléidoscope” in 2018: A man and woman sitting on an embankment\r\nwithout uttering a word.\r\n\r\nThe term “Performosa” is a combination of performers and Formosa (also known as the beautiful island of Taiwan), representing a group of distinguished Taiwanese artists.\r\n \r\nFounded in 2011, the group recruited outstanding professional performers and creators with different training backgrounds and much experience in international performances. Social issues and phenomena in Taiwan form the group’s core message.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from PTC\r\nA woman having an affair with a man can't stop crying at one scene of “Kaléidoscope” in 2018.\r\n \r\n“Kaléidoscope” in 2018 is an example of the group’s international cooperation. Shaghayegh Beheshti, a senior member of Le Théâtre du Soleil in France, and the Macao-based Hiu Kok Drama Association were invited to work with Performosa in 2016. Two years later, their collective creation hit the stage in Taipei and Macao.\r\n \r\nThe PTC artistic director Hung Pei-ching invited Taiwanese choreographer/dancer Yang Wei-chen and performer Liao Chen-chih to join the team for the APAF. Yang has worked in Paris for many years and Chen specializes in dance and theater.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from PTC

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A woman with her newborn baby.\r\n

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A man straightens a woman’s skirt.

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Previously known as the Asian Performing Arts Festival, the APAF is an international cultural and art exchange event under the Asian Network of Major Cities – an organization established in Tokyo in October 2001. The then Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara was its main advocate.\r\n \r\nIn 2016, the Asian Performing Arts Festival was renamed the Asian Performing Arts Forum, which became a part of the Tokyo Festival in 2017.\r\n \r\nThe APAP sets a theme each year and invites artist groups from different countries and backgrounds to participate. The objective is to open up a wide range of possibilities for international collaborations and performances among artistic groups.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nJu Percussion Group was given an award by Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) in 2017 for its long-time dedication to education and promotion of percussion music. It is the 15th arts organization to receive this honor.\r\n \r\nEstablished in 1986 as Taiwan’s first professional percussion ensemble, the percussion troupe has been actively seeking new ways to push the boundaries of percussion music through crossover collaborations and incorporation of dramatic elements.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nJu Percussion Group founder Ju Tzong-ching (right) receives an award from\r\nTaipei City Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nTaipei City Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun says that Taiwan has become an important development center in the world of percussion thanks to the contribution and dedication of Ju Percussion Group.\r\n \r\nIn the last 32 years, the Taipei-based ensemble has combined performance, teaching, and promotion of percussion. To date, it has wowed audiences around the world with their dynamic music and showmanship at more than 3,000 performances in 33 different countries.\r\n \r\n“Ju Percussion Group gave proof that it merits the prize it has already won from the DOCA,” Taipei City Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun. “Thanks to its contribution and dedication, Taiwan has become a major international development center of percussion music.”\r\n \r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nJu Percussion Group founder Ju Tzong-ching becomes the first Taiwanese to earn induction into the PAS (Percussive Arts Society) Hall of Fame, which is considered one of the highest honors in the world of percussion.\r\n\r\n“When I set up the Ju Percussion Group in Taipei 32 years ago, I set a clear goal: ‘Think Globally, Act Locally,’” the group’s founder Ju Tzong-ching said. “I hope that all our members maintain this day-one spirit in the future.”\r\n\r\nOver the past 32 years, the ensemble has combined traditional and modern music with Eastern and Western percussion. The founder has three focuses: to nurture new talents, to enrich the ensemble’s programs by never-ending commissioning of new music, and to promote its distinctive music by setting up a worldwide network.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nWu Pei-ching is the principal percussionist of the Taipei-based Ju Percussion Group.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nLearning percussion from Ju Tzong-ching in college, Hwang Kuen-yean has worked for the Ju Percussion Group for 32 years.\r\n\r\nIn 2009, Ju received a lifetime achievement award in education from the U.S.-based Percussive Arts Society (PAS) for his devotion to the percussive arts and for organizing the Taipei International Percussion Conventions (TIPC) in 1993, 1996, 1999, and 2002.\r\n\r\nSeven years later, the group’s founder was inducted by the PAS into its Hall of Fame, which is considered one of the highest honors in the world of percussion. He was the first Taiwanese to receive the award from PAS, the largest percussion organization in the world.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nNow in its 7th year, Taipei Design Action 2018 is meant to help Taipei’s street performers improve their visual identity system (VIS) by helping them create exclusive brands. With distinctive colors and simple symbols, the new visual image can be seen on the license of Taipei’s street artists.\r\n \r\n“Street performers are the ambassadors of Taipei’s street cultures. They can create a brand new image for our city,” said Chung Yung-feng, Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA).\r\n \r\n\r\nPhoto from TDA\r\nC’est La Vie, two boys specializing in electric piano and electro-acoustic cello,\r\noften perform on the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Chante Square in Taipei’s Xinyi District.\r\n\r\nThe DOCA invited Lu Chen-yun (盧袗雲), Creative Director of biaugust Creation Office (兩個八月創意設計有限公司), to work with five groups of street artists and help design their own costumes based on each street performer’s preference.\r\n \r\n“This collaboration was very meaningful,” Chung said. “I hope that through a much-improved self-image, artists could enhance their street performances and thereby increase their income.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TDA\r\nA street artist draws a portrait of Chung Yung-feng (seated at right), Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs.\r\n \r\nIn the new era of branding, each street performer can be considered a brand, Lu said. “Street artists could learn to develop and manage their own brands and enrich their personal images.”\r\n \r\nTwo boys who call themselves C’est La Vie (瑟拉樂團) specialize in electric piano and electro-acoustic cello. They busk on the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Chante Square in Taipei’s Xinyi District. The duo has become a charismatic boy group with their black and grey attire that express a casual street style. They use a specially-made beautiful and durable iron box to collect money.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TDA\r\nWith the help of a sugar drawing busker, Chung Yung-feng (standing at right) tries sugar painting.\r\n \r\nPowerAngel (能量天使) is a duet of indigenous girls who usually perform at Taipei Main Station’s Underground Mall. A car accident left them both in wheelchairs. But they convey love and hope through their beautiful music. Embroidered figures of the sun and music notes on their clothes express their perseverance and limitless energy.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TDA\r\nPowerAngel, two indigenous girls busking in Taipei Main Station’s Underground Mall,\r\nconvey love and hope through their beautiful music and singing.\r\n \r\nChi Yung-hsun (紀詠勳) is an award-winning diabolo juggler who always captivates audiences with his fascinating skills on Chante Boulevard in Taipei’s Xinyi District. His transformation consisted in wearing pirate clothes as he performs for his street audiences who are thus led into a world of fantasy.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TDA\r\nChi Yung-hsun, an award-winning diabolo juggler who attracts street audiences\r\nwith his fascinating skills, integrates his favorite pirate attire into his street performances.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nTaipei City has nearly 2,000 protected trees with much heritage value.​ Although some of these trees are on private property, many more are on public land usually managed by the city government.\r\n \r\nIn an effort to praise the organizations that have done the best job of protecting trees over the past few years, Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA) held the first “Taipei Tree Preservation Awards” (臺北樹益獎) – a real milestone for Taiwan’s tree lovers.\r\n \r\nTaipei City Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun, the DOCA Commissioner Chung Yung-feng, and Wu Meng-ling, one of Taipei City’s Tree Protection Committee members, attended the awards ceremony on September 20 in the Taipower Building. Six winners were recognized for their contribution and dedication to protecting trees in Taipei.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from D-Fun\r\nA group photo of Taipei City Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun (center in the back row) and Chung Yung-feng (first from right in the back row), Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, with Taipei Tree Preservation Award winners.\r\n \r\nThe awards were divided into three categories: maintenance and management, promotion, and technical maintenance.\r\n \r\nThe first category praised the winners for maintaining and managing protected trees. The winners were Taipei Municipal Jing-Mei Elementary School (景美國小) and Taiwan Power Company (台灣電力股份有限公司).\r\n \r\nThe second category recognized the organizations that promote tree protection. The award went to the Fu-Tien Tree Healing & Conservation Foundation (財團法人福田樹木保育基金會), which helps to treat sick older trees and held a series of events promoting tree preservation.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from D-Fun\r\nThe two protected trees, “Manila tamarind,” resemble a couple standing at Taipei Municipal Jing-Mei Elementary School.\r\n \r\nThe third category paid tribute to tree workers who care for protected trees. The three winners included Tainrui Corp. (天蕊股份有限公司), which specializes in tree cancer treatment; Guangrong Green Co. (廣容綠化有限公司), which excels in the treatment of brown root rot disease and environmental protection; and Treegarden Corp. (樹花園股份有限公司) for its work in transplanting big trees.\r\n \r\nThe trophies were designed by Lai Yun-hsin (賴永興), Professor of Sculpture at the National Taiwan University of Arts. He was the first artist in Taiwan to hold a PhD in sculpture research and has devoted all his energies to wood art. The concept of his trophy design, “Tree House,” is to present the relationship between urban buildings and trees, and to convey the gratitude of the city government and the public.\r\n \r\nManila tamarind (also known as Pithecellobium dulce), a species of flowering plant in the pea family, is a fast-growing tree with a generally broad or rounded crown.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from D-Fun\r\nTaiwan Power Company holds a flower viewing event of Crateva religiosa\r\nwhose flowers have long, spidery stamens.\r\n \r\nThe No. 1415 and 1416 listed protected trees are Manila tamarind, which resemble a couple standing proudly near the campus playground at Taipei Municipal Jing-Mei Elementary School. According to the school records, they have stood there since the school was founded in 1897.\r\n \r\nWell over 100 years old, the trees were dying because they had been repeatedly affected by a wide variety of diseases, parasites and pests, the school’s principal Chan Rui-jing (詹瑞璟) said. The school constantly sought the help of arborists to care for them.\r\n \r\nIn 2005, they invited Yang Gan-ling, the first certified arborist in Taiwan, to treat the two trees by removing their decayed and burned parts and injecting medicine into their trunks. Between 2011 and 2012, the invasion of wood-inhabiting bacteria hindered the trees from absorbing nutrients. The school asked a private foundation to perform surgical debridement, use artificial tree bark for wound healing, and improve root respiration in trees.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from D-Fun\r\nThe Fu-Tien Tree Healing & Conservation Foundation holds a series of\r\nvolunteer training programs to protect trees.\r\n \r\nIn 2017, the branches and leaves of the two trees turned dry and yellow. With the financial support of Taipei City’s Department of Education, the school carried out a habitat improvement project in 2018. At last, under careful care, the tree couple survived.\r\n \r\n“In the school’s 122 year history, we have been lucky to have the two trees stay with us. For our nearly 20,000 teachers and students, they are like lovely grandparents,” Chan said. “We have created a program to help students gain a better understanding of Manila tamarind. I hope that all teachers and students care for the old trees and develop attitudes to respect life and cherish nature.”\r\n \r\nThe No. 705 listed protected tree is Crateva religiosa (also known as the sacred garlic pear), a species of flowering tree. The tree is sometimes called the spider tree because its eye-catching flowers have long, spidery stamens.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from D-Fun\r\nBy using an all-terrain crane, Treegarden Corp. spends nearly 20 hours moving a\r\nprotected tree to its new home and keeping its root ball intact.\r\n \r\nLocated opposite the Wenzhou Park in the Da-an District, Taipei, this protected tree is a rare exotic species in Taiwan. In 1983, two employees of Taiwan Power Company thought that it was Ficus religiosa or sacred fig. They planted it near their company and prayed for blessing and peace.\r\n \r\nThe flowering season of Crateva religiosa runs from February to June. This protected tree in full bloom every April has not only caught many people’s eyes, but has also become a great place to post photos on Facebook.\r\n \r\nBut since 2013, the tree has gradually reduced flowering. Several members of Taipei City’s Tree Protection Committee found that its growing environment was too small and poor. They suggested improving its habitat and creating a suitable growth space for the old tree.\r\n \r\nThe company’s vice general manager Chen Wei-tzu (陳慰慈) said that they had improved the tree habitat in 2016 and held a series of events including music festivals and flower viewing in recent years.\r\n \r\nIn 2008, Mr. Chen Fu-tien set up a foundation to nurture certified arborists and encourage more people to engage in tree treatment and preservation. The Fu-Tien Tree Healing & Conservation Foundation used its own funds to help care for sick old trees and promote environmental awareness through a series of service activities, environmental education, volunteer training programs, and tree health diagnosis by tree surgeons.\r\n \r\nThe foundation launched a campaign to rescue old trees in 2009 and since then has provided free treatment. Trees receiving free revitalizing treatment from the foundation include Bead Tree (No. 221) and East Indian Walnut (No. 220) at Taipei Municipal Ying-Qiao Elementary School in 2010, Manila tamarind at Taipei Municipal Jing-Mei Elementary School in 2011, sacred fig (No. 577) at Taipei Municipal Xin-Sheng Elementary School in 2013, and ginkgo (No. 825) at Taipei Municipal Xi-Men Elementary School in 2015.\r\n \r\nEstablished by the foundation in 2008, the Fu-Tien Tree Hospital offers free professional tree health diagnoses. By the end of 2017, a total of 222 old trees had been diagnosed. The foundation’s long-term promotion and engagement in protected trees was worthy of recognition, the DOCA said.\r\n \r\nBrown root rot disease, a fungal infection often referred to as “tree cancer,” has no known cure and is one of the top tree killers in tropical regions.\r\n \r\nTainrui Corp., a technology transfer manufacturer of the Council of Agriculture, specializes in performing surgical resection to treat old trees with the root disease.\r\n \r\nWith its expertise and professional skills, Tainrui saved a listed protected tree (No. 307) at Taipei Municipal Da-tong Elementary School in 2016. It was infected with root disease, and the company moved it to a better habitat within the school.\r\n \r\nGuangrong Green Co. is also a technology transfer manufacturer of the Council of Agriculture. The company has much experience in treating old trees with root disease, performing surgical debridement, and improving their habitats.\r\n\r\nGuangrong’s successful treatments include two Eucalyptus Trees (No. 230 and 231) at the University of Taipei in 2015, a protected Cajuput Tree (No. 1694) at Taipei Confucius Temple in 2016, a protected East Indian Walnut at the National Taipei University of Education in 2016, and a privately protected Royal Poinciana Flame Tree (No. 1621) in 2018.\r\n \r\nMoving a tree to a new location should be done under the right conditions and preserve most of its life-supporting root system.\r\n \r\nTreegarden Corp. has developed a technical method of keeping the root ball intact while moving a tree to a new home. The protected Eucalyptus Tree (No. 1021) was located in Beitou District, Taipei. Before the start of an urban renewal project at the Qiyan section in Beitou District, the company successfully transplanted this protected tree to its new home by using a 700-ton all-terrain crane and working for nearly 20 hours.

Rewritten by Leo Maliksi\r\n \r\nIn 2004, Taipei City took on the role of being the capital of traditional Chinese characters when it held the first Hanzi Culture Festival. Hanzi (漢字) which means Chinese character is what makes Chinese culture unique. Each character contains a wealth of meaning and history.\r\n \r\nIn 2017, Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Locus Publishing drafted a year-long plan to publish books about the Chinese character. They gave the plan the name “Hanzi and its Glorious Regenerations” (漢字的華麗轉身). This name is now the tile of a book that compiles essays and articles that express the profound meanings of Chinese characters and also the evolution of their written form.\r\n\r\n\r\n“Hanzi and its Glorious Regenerations” compiles essays and articles that express the profound meanings of Chinese characters and also the evolution of their written form.\r\n\r\nThe most important change in Chinese writing since its standardization in the Qin dynasty occurred in the middle of the 20th century. In 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) introduced simplified characters (簡體字) to replace the traditional characters.\r\n \r\nThe essays in “Hanzi and its Glorious Regenerations” seek to portray how the evolution of the Chinese character influenced the people who lived within the culture of the Hanzi.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nIn his article in the book, Prof. Michael Wang (王明嘉) talks about the evolution of typefaces used in printing Chinese characters and the present use of fonts in writing Chinese with a digital device.\r\n\r\n“This book presents the history of Chinese characters and their influence on modern life,” said Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Chung Yung-feng. “Readers will thus understand the cultural heritage that was formed through the development of the Hanzi.”\r\n \r\nThirty-one scholars and cultural experts contributed to generating the book’s content. Some wrote down their thoughts while others accepted interviews. The book’s editors divided the book into six sections that express the different transformations of Chinese characters. The first section dealt with written, engraved, molten, and printed forms; the second section dealt with its vitality and crisis after China’s republican period; the Chinese character as used by the Japanese was the third section; the fourth the role of the Chinese character in Taiwan education, society and life; the fifth examines the impact of the information revolution on the character; and the sixth, the Chinese character as an art form and its relation to life.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nProf. Wang’s essay is entitled “The Design and Use of Fonts for Chinese Characters.”\r\n \r\nProf. Michael Wang wrote an article in the book where he talks about the evolution of typefaces used in printing Chinese characters and the present use of fonts in writing Chinese with a digital device. His essay is entitled “The Design and Use of Fonts for Chinese Characters” (中文字體設計與漢字字型繪製).\r\n \r\nRex How (郝明義), the founder of Locus Publishing said that the book symbolized the ideal that his company shared with the Department of Cultural Affairs – the centrality of the Chinese character in the lives of the Chinese.\r\n \r\n“I hope that as they live and work in the city, the people of Taipei could experience the magnificence of the development and the transmission of the Hanzi,” he said.

Rewritten by Leo Maliksi\r\n \r\nThe Taipei City Government on Aug. 13 announced the winners of the 22nd Taipei Culture Award: Peking opera performer Chu An-li, writer and filmmaker Lei Hsiang and Taipei City-based Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture.\r\n \r\nSince 1997, the city government honors those whose artistic talents have made a contribution to the arts in Taiwan.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nThe Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture promotes creativity and artistic sense and is dedicated to creating an environment for artistic development.\r\n \r\nThomas Wu, chairman of Taishin Financial Holding Co., established the Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture in 2001 to promote creativity and artistic sense which for him were the best expressions of stability and prosperity in society. The foundation is dedicated to creating an environment for artistic development. Wu’s vision was to inspire, nurture, and spread the spirit of the times through corporate social commitment in support of the contemporary arts. According to the foundation’s mission statement, the arts capture the diverse social trends and rapid evolution of the twenty-first century.\r\n \r\nIn 2002, the foundation initiated the Taishin Arts Award that recognized creative achievements in works of visual, performing and inter-disciplinary arts. Its unique selection process includes year-round nominations by professionals, release of observations and art reviews, and yearly involvement of international jurors.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nWriter and filmmaker Lei Hsiang once taught painting to children whose schools were destroyed by the 921 earthquake and gave painting classes to the deaf. For him, anyone, at any age could discover the joy of life in painting and creativity.\r\n\r\nIn addition to its importance in recognizing professional creative achievements in Taiwan, the Taishin Arts Award is also dedicated to establishing a platform enabling international networking for contemporary Taiwanese artists. Taishin’s Annual Grand Prize is a NT$1.5 million monetary award and trophy; the Taishin Performing Arts Award is a NT$1million monetary award and trophy; and the Taishin Visual Arts Award is a NT$1million monetary award and trophy.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nPeking opera performer Chu An-li strove to improve her work and took on the task of preserving and transmitting this traditional art. She is truly a pillar of Peking opera in Taiwan.\r\n \r\nWriter and filmmaker Lei Hsiang was born in Shanghai in 1939. He graduated from the Department of Arts of the National Taipei University of Education (formerly Taiwan Provincial Junior Teachers’ College). He is a writer, painter, and documentary film director. \r\n \r\nIn his youth, Lei Hsiang worked as art illustrator for newspaper supplements. He also wrote articles that won the admiration of readers. His later illustrations and writings full of candid honesty reflected a more mature vision of society. He eventually taught aesthetics at the community university and promoted adult education. He also taught arts management at the Taipei National University of the Arts where his students found in him a sincere and selfless teacher. He taught painting to children whose schools were destroyed by the 921 earthquake and gave painting classes to the deaf. For him, anyone, at any age could discover the joy of life in painting and creativity.\r\n \r\nPeking opera performer Chu An-li was born in 1963 in Nantou. At ten years old, she left her Taiya tribe and studied Peking opera with the Opera School of the ROC Army (陸光劇校) and took on a performer’s name---Ju Shengli (朱勝麗). After finishing opera school, Chu joined the GuoGuang Opera Company and stayed on as a Peking opera performer for 45 years. She strove to improve her work and took on the task of preserving and transmitting this traditional art. She is truly a pillar of Peking opera in Taiwan.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\n2018 is going to be a great leap forward in Taiwan’s fashion industry as it is the first time that the Ministry of Culture (MOC), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), and Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) worked together to launch Taipei’s first fashion show and demonstrate the unique skills of Taiwan’s young fashion designers.\r\n \r\nThe DCA teamed up with Vogue magazine to hold Taipei Fashion Week 2018, which runs from September 28 until October 21. Combining international resources, virtual platforms, innovative digital art, and pop music, Taipei’s first fashion show will function as a stage for Taiwanese rising fashion designers to present the fashion trends of autumn/winter season. The DCA invited the general public to participate in this grand event.\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n\r\nThis year’s fashion show also received strong support from leading brands. For example, Mercedes-Benz has been a longstanding partner of the fashion industry, sponsoring over 30 fashion weeks worldwide. Meanwhile, domestic and international fashion brands, large department stores and shopping malls, as well as well-known entertainers and celebrities also joined the festivities.\r\n \r\nThe first wave of Taipei Fashion Week was the “Chante Fair,” whose venue ran from Chante Boulevard (the pedestrian zone between A8 Branch and A10 Branch of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store) in the Xinyi District to Chante Boulevard Plaza, and the pedestrian area in front of Vieshow Cinemas.\r\n \r\nThe fair was filled with a wide variety of fashion icons and symbols, such as equations, wavelengths, and refractive index. In an effort to keep up with the latest and coolest fashion trends, the organizers gathered a wide range of well-known brands from Taiwan and overseas to create this fashionable and creative fair. The general public are welcome to take part in Taipei’s first international fashion event.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFW\r\nTaiwanese actress Summer Meng shows off Justin Chou’s Fall/Winter collection\r\nat Taipei Fashion Week.\r\n \r\nC.M. Liu, Managing Director of Vogue Taiwan, said that Taipei Fashion Week had kicked off with Vogue magazine’s Fashion’s Night Out (FNO) on September 28. With a fearless spirit, this year’s fashion show broke the rules and demonstrated unlimited originality and creativity to create an art world without boundaries in the Xinyi District.\r\n \r\nMeanwhile, the organizers created a new stage for the new generation of independent fashion designers, holding a series of cross-border exhibitions and performances for two consecutive weekends. Up-and-coming designers were invited to unveil their latest Fall/Winter 2018 collection. Young music creators also joined Taipei Fashion Week, which contains music performances, innovative runway shows, and cross-border interactive performances.\r\n \r\nIn addition, the 13 participating pop fashion boutiques – including NARS, NIKE, BOBBI BROWN, Guerlain, Charles & Keith, Dyson, Estee Lauder, ASUS, Steve Madden, Jimmy Choo, KC winwin, CoCo Bar KTV, VOGUE SHOP – will also launch a series of exclusive events and products.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFW\r\nTaiwanese actress Summer Meng poses for photos with the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé.\r\n \r\nTaiwanese singer Jolin Tsai’s Your Majesty Pop-up Store that sells handcrafted and customized fondant cakes for each customer, is also in the spotlight for the first time.\r\n \r\nIn March 2016, Tsai participated in a cake competition organized by Cake International in Birmingham, the U.K., and got a Silver Award in the “A Decorative Exhibit Category.” Seven months later, she took part in this cake competition once again, winning a Gold Award in the same category this time for her fondant cake creation.\r\n \r\nThe pop star used the concept of exquisite fondant art to open her store that showcased two fondant cake sculptures, winners of the British Cake International awards. A limited number of her fondant cakes will be available at this year’s Taipei Fashion Week.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFW\r\nFrom left to right, Jolin Wu, Jenn Lee, Wang Li-ling, and Huang Sheng-yao\r\nare Taiwan’s rising fashion designers.\r\n\r\nThe second wave of Taipei Fashion Week was the first International Fashion Summit Forum on October 12 at Taipei 101. The forum focuses on fashion education and the fashion industry of Taiwan. Participants could learn how to take inspiration from daily life and culture, how to make good use of the Internet and technology, and how to expand the fashion market.\r\n \r\nHeavyweight speakers include Dominique Simard, Executive Director of Condé Nast Center of Fashion & Design; fashion designer Andrew Gn; Stephanie Kuo, Artistic Director of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store; and Judy Liu, Farfetch’s managing director for China. They not only shared their own international experiences through cross-border cooperation cases of technology, social networks, e-commerce and creativity, but also engaged directly with those who are interested in fashion design.\r\n \r\nThe third wave of Taipei Fashion Week is the first-ever street closure for Taipei’s fashion show that reached its climax on October 13 and 14. Over the weekend, the city government temporarily closed the Songzhi Road in the Xinyi District to hold such a creative and high-profile cross-border fashion show. The east entrance of Taipei City Hall and Songzhi Road will also be transformed into the main stage and catwalk respectively.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFW\r\nProfessional models from Catwalk Production House Corp. show off the beautiful gowns,\r\nluxury-themed collections, and ready-to-wear items provided by international fashion designers.\r\n \r\nOn October 13, models showed off the Fall/Winter 2018 collection of international fashion brands, such as Daks, LEONARD, Michael Kors, Onefifteen, Weng Collection, and Blumarine, against the backdrop of Taipei 101 in the starry sky.\r\n \r\nOn October 14, six Taiwanese fashion designers, including Apu Jan (詹朴), Justin Chou (周裕穎), Wang Li-ling (汪俐伶), Huang Sheng-yao (黃聖堯), Jolin Wu (吳若羚), Jenn Lee (李維錚), launched their latest collection.\r\n \r\nA graduate of Fu Jen Catholic University in New Taipei City, Apu Jan is a London-based fashion designer. After earning a master’s degree in Knitwear Womenswear from the Royal College of Art in London, he quickly showed his creative talent at London Fashion Week.\r\n \r\nSince launching his Autumn/Winter collection at London Fashion Week in 2013, Jan has worked with many Taiwanese young artists. They have also formed a strong team to encourage the new generation of Taiwanese young designers to show their creations at London Fashion Week.\r\n \r\nJan specializes in the integration of patterns and knitwear techniques. In recent years, he has been asked to design flight attendant uniforms for Eva Air, dancewear for the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, and corporate apparel for Wu Bao-chun’s Maifangdian Taipei Xinyi flagship store and the century-old Kuo Yuan Ye Corp. One of Jan’s knitwear collections for women has been permanently collected by the Museum of Lace and Fashion in France.\r\n \r\nChou graduated from the Domus Academy in Milan. He launched his brand, Just In Case, in 2013 to combine his vision of street fashion and his philosophy of cultural diversity.\r\n \r\nThe designer’s label, Just In Case, debuted in New York in February at the Spring/Summer 2017 New York Fashion Week (NYFW). His distinctive style of blending traditional Chinese elements and Western street styles won him a place as one of “The 18 wildest looks from New York Fashion Week” by Business Insider in February, 2017.\r\n \r\nFor the NYFW in September 2017, Chou worked with the National Museum of History in Taipei to incorporate the artworks of Chinese-French artist Sanyu (常玉) into his fashion design. The rising designer also cooperated with the National Palace Museum in Taipei to unveil his Fall/Winter 2018 collection in an effort to arouse public attention to value historical and cultural treasures.\r\n \r\nAfter graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, Wang founded the DARKLIGHT DESIGN Studio and serves as creative director of her fashion label, WANGLILING. She has been committed to creating different light effects through a wide variety of materials.\r\n \r\nWang’s newest fashion design drew inspiration from water and technology. She added a great range of technical fabric into her design to create her one-of-a-kind fashion style.\r\n \r\nLee graduated from London College of Fashion in 2011. Before launching her label JENN LEE in 2015, she worked as an intern for Alexander McQueen under Gucci Group and London-based fashion designer Felicity Brown. The Taipei-based experimental fashion designer tries to seek perfection within imperfection and believes in freedom, love, and peace.\r\n \r\nApart from Taiwanese actress Summer Meng (孟耿如), Christine Fan (范瑋琪), around 100 professional models will be walking the runway, showing off the beautiful gowns, luxury-themed collections and ready-to-wear items provided by the six up-and-coming designers.\r\n \r\nThe fashion show started at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and finished at 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. More than 1,000 spectators a day and fashion designers at home and abroad were expected to attend.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nThe third edition of Nuit Blanche, an annual all-night arts festival, opened in Taipei last Saturday night.\r\n \r\nThemed “Upside Down City,” this year’s Nuit Blanche Taipei (臺北白晝之夜) features a wide variety of artworks, light installations, and performances to explore the connections between opposites such as day and night, prosperity and decline, and tradition and modernity.\r\n \r\nTaiwanese curator Sean C.S. Hu served as artistic director of this year’s festival. He put forward the idea of “Upside Down City,” placing great emphasis on the concept of transformation, disruption, and inclusion.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from NBT\r\nFrom left to right, Sean C.S. Hu, Artistic Director of Nuit Blanche Taipei; Benoît Guidée, Director of the French Office in Taipei; Taipei City Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun; and Chung Yung-feng, Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs wear designer clothes during the press conference on September 27.\r\n \r\nAt least 60 groups of artists from Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, France, China, and Canada were invited to participate in this year’s event. Their installations and performances also center on the theme of “Upside Down City” with the aim of “liberating the space and redefining the city.”\r\n \r\nAt the press conference on September 27, Taipei City Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun said that in 2016, the start of the first edition of Nuit Blanche Taipei stretched from the North Gate to the 228 Peace Memorial Park. Last year’s festival explored the west side of the city, centering around the Gongguan area, including the National Taiwan University, Taipower Building, and Taipei City Hakka Cultural Park.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from NBT\r\n“Moon Haze,” a 10-meter inflatable moon by Chinese artists Feng Jiacheng and Huang Yuanbei,\r\nis located near the intersection of Nanjing E Road and Linsen N Road for the 2018 Nuit Blanche Taipei.\r\n \r\nThis year’s event that began at 6 pm on October 6 runs from Zhongshan N Road Section One and Nanjing W Road, to Zhongshan N Road Section 3, near the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Flora Expo Park. Unlike the first two, this year’s festival had performances at several sites until 6 a.m. on October 7.\r\n \r\n“One major feature this year lies in art exchanges between Taipei and Paris,” Chen said.\r\n \r\nOn October 6, Taiwanese artists Tsui Kuang-yu and Chen Wan-jen displayed their creations at the 2018 Nuit Blanche Paris, thus symbolizing a timeless link between Taiwan and France. The two festival venues have a 6-hour time difference.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from NBT\r\nThe audience are invited to follow mysterious stilted figures dressed in white for\r\n“Herbert’s Dream” by Compagnie Des Quidams.\r\n \r\nThe Nuit Blanche (Sleepless Night) festival was first held by the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, sixteen years ago, said Benoît Guidée, Director of the French Office in Taipei.\r\n \r\nThe idea behind the Sleepless Night festival is to turn a city into a huge art gallery for one night, presenting contemporary art to a wider audience and encouraging people to explore areas of a city where they might not often go.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from NBT\r\nTsai Chieh-hsin’s large-scale fiberglass sculpture, “Let Us Hug Each Other Today!,”\r\nsits in Taipei’s Shuangcheng Children’s Park for this year’s all-night arts festival.\r\n \r\nThe Paris festival was such a success that it prompted more than 30 cities around the world to stage their own versions. Scores of cities now host their own Nuite Blanche on the first Saturday in October, with art galleries, museums and cultural organizations open throughout the night and free of charge. Taipei was the second city in Asia to stage the event in 2016 after Kyoto in Japan.\r\n \r\n“Taipei’s rich cultural life and active nightlife correspond to the spirit of the all-night arts festival,” Guidée said. “The concept of the Nuit Blanche has been deeply rooted in Taipei.”\r\n \r\n“The city government is continuing to localize the content of the Sleepless Night festival, adding elements of Taiwanese culture. I also expect that arts and cultural exchanges will spread throughout Asia with Taipei City as the starting point.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from NBT\r\nThe L’Enfant Sauvage Physical Theatre is one of the groups performing\r\nat the 2018 Nuit Blanche Taipei.\r\n\r\nOn October 6, the start of the third annual Nuit Blanche Taipei at 6 p.m., MRT services between Taipei Main Station and Yuanshan Station stayed open until 6 a.m. the following day.\r\n \r\nParticipants can enjoy a series of programs that feature 43 art installations by Taiwanese and foreign artists and more than 70 performances ranging from music and theater to a reading marathon and street sports. The art installations have been placed around Taipei Fine Arts Museum, the Flora Expo Hall, and some small parks at the intersection of Nanjing E Road and Linsen N Road.\r\n \r\nCurator Hu said that Zhongshan N Road was chosen as the venue of this year’s festival because its architecture and shops reflect different periods of Taipei’s history, from the Japanese colonial era to Taiwan’s economic boom. That area can likewise claim greater cultural diversity due to the recent influx of migrant workers.\r\n \r\nThe main sites include Taipei Fine Arts Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Flora Expo Hall, the Expo Dome, Taipei Artists Village, the Nanxi circle-Zhongshan MRT Station, and around St. Christopher’s Church.\r\n \r\nArt lovers, party animals, sports fanatics, or people who simply find an excuse to enjoy a night out are welcome to take part in this all-night arts festival.\r\n \r\nThe 43 art installations are waiting for art lovers to create a check-in status update and post it on Facebook or add it to Instagram posts.\r\n \r\nHighlights include “In No. 94,” (第九十四夜) by Taiwan artist Wang Te-yu (王德瑜) who used fabric and inflation equipment to transform a bookstore into an exhibition venue. Tsai Chieh-hsin’s (蔡潔莘) large-scale fiberglass sculpture, “Let Us Hug Each Other Today!,” (讓我們今天就擁抱吧！) is at Taipei’s Shuangcheng Children’s Park.\r\n \r\nA large rotating light installation, “Untitled Monochrome #1,” (無題 單色一) by Canadian artist Liam Morgan, adds its unusual and hypnotic visual effect into the festive night. Tao Ya-lun’s (陶亞倫) “Morse Code” (摩斯密碼) translates and projects the messages from the audience into the night sky through a searchlight, thereby extending the viewers’ imagination from the earth to the sky.\r\n \r\nOne of the most visible installations is the environmental piece, “Moon Haze,” (月霾) by Chinese artists Feng Jiacheng (馮嘉城) and Huang Yuanbei (黃苑倍), a 10m high inflatable moon that changes brightness according to the amount of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air. Located near the intersection of Nanjing E Road and Linsen N Road, this artwork aims to evoke environmental awareness.\r\n \r\nFor video installations, Yu Cheng-ta’s (余政達) “Ventriloquists: Liang Mei-Lang and Emily Su,” (附身【聲】者：梁美蘭與艾蜜莉蘇) filmed two women from the Philippines married to Taiwanese nationals. It expresses the delicate relationships among cultures, languages and identities.\r\n \r\nIt is worth mentioning that the video installations of two Taiwanese artists will be on display at the Nuit Blanche 2018 in Paris. One is “The Swimmer Series” (泳者系列) by Chen Wan-jen (陳萬仁), which describes swimmers repeating their strokes silently and conveys a complex sense of peace and uncertainty.\r\n \r\nThe other is Tsui Kuang-yu’s (崔廣宇) “Invisible City: Taiparis York,” (隱形的城市：台巴黎・約克) which adapts foreign symbols on the streets of Taipei City to create exotic scenes. His film with satire and humor stimulates viewers to think about the absurdity of an imagined world.\r\n \r\nMajor performances include the dream-like street performance of “Herbert’s Dream” (亞伯之夢) by internationally-acclaimed French theater company Compagnie des Quidams (匿名者劇團).\r\n \r\n“Herbert’s Dream” begins with a short procession led by mysterious stilted figures dressed in white. Communicating solely in a mysterious language of silence and articulated gestures, they hold strange and secret meetings, approaching and withdrawing as if inviting others to follow. Step by step, the figures grow to 4m high, transforming into billowing masses as the haunting procession culminates into a fantastic finale. Unearthly and entrancing, this unique and otherworldly parade will mesmerize Taipei’s visitors.\r\n \r\nThe L’Enfant Sauvage Physical Theatre and residents of the Guangneng Community in Taipei will perform together from the Jazz Square in the Zhongshan underground mall to the Flora Expo Hall to warm up the audience for this year’s festival.\r\n \r\nThe Taipei-based group “One-Forty Migrant Stars,” (移工大人物) which consists of migrant workers from Indonesia and the Philippines, will give a performance combining music and fashion shows.\r\n \r\n“Noised” (噪型) by the French-Taiwanese Sondes A/V Duo (電波接收器) is an abstract audiovisual performance about city noises. The Creating Music Orchestra (CMO), which just won the Golden Melody Award for Best Aboriginal Album this year, invites the audience to listen to songs at St. Christopher Church.\r\n \r\nOne of the very few drag groups in Taiwan, the Snow White Entertaining Troupe will give a drag queen show, titled “Night of Rebellion – Grand Dress-up Party.”\r\n \r\nManzai (traditional Japanese-style stand-up comedy) superstars Dacon.come (達康.come) will join forces with Man_otokojuku (漫！！男塾) to spend the happy night with the audience through their entertaining show “The Night We Go Back to Laugh.”\r\n \r\nMoreover, starting at midnight, films will be shown at the Late Night Cinema, and unique pop-up hotels at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei and Taipei Artist Village, although advance registration is required for these events.\r\n \r\nThere is a well-designed Web site (nuitblanchetaipei.info) with information in Chinese and English, including a program schedule, artist information and downloadable map.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nIn its sixth year, Taipei Design and City Exhibition kicked off at the Nos. 4 and 5 Warehouse in the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, and will run until October 21.\r\n \r\nThemed “Taipei All Inclusive,” the three-week exhibition aims to offer a fresh new experience to dazzle the sensibilities of viewers. Its theme is divided into five parts – “Playing Arts,” “Happy Aging,” “Street Activation,” “Inclusive Play,” and “Green Life” – to present nearly 40 domestic and international exhibits that include 10 films, 6 interactive experience devices, 1 VR (virtual reality) experience device where viewers can have fun in Japanese city blocks. One multimedia interactive device takes viewers to explore application design patterns.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\nTaipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (right) has a taste of tea in the “Tea for Peace” events,\r\norganized by Japanese designer Teruo Kurosaki (left).\r\n\r\nTaiwan’s Wang Yu-ling and the Tokyo-based designer Teruo Kurosaki are this year’s exhibition curators.\r\n \r\nKurosaki, a leading figure in Japan’s contemporary design world, owns the Idée and Sputnik chains of design shops in Tokyo and a string of restaurants. He recently opened the Ikejiri Institute of Design – an “incubator” for young Japanese designers – in an abandoned junior school. Many world-class designs have been introduced into Japan by Kurosaki, who says that design is a way of life. He has developed his own aesthetic style.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\nTwo members of the exhibition staff talk about the preparation of the “Tea for Peace” events.\r\n \r\n“Design can be used to solve social problems and promote the development of an entire city,” Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je said at the press conference on September 26. “Design can be also integrated into our daily life in a professional but accessible way to fill our city life with aesthetics.”\r\n \r\nHe used the redevelopment of the area to the west of Taipei Main Station as an example of local design aesthetics. Once upon a time, Taipei was described as one of the ugliest cities in the world because many buildings and signboards looked ugly.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\nOne high school student plays with building blocks in the “Playing Arts” area.\r\n\r\nBut in recent years, many designs with the inclusive spirit can be seen in the capital city, he said. These include playgrounds, painted electrical boxes, and small beautiful signs. “I hope that through everyone’s efforts, Taipei becomes a truly friendly and innovative city.”\r\n \r\nKurosaki said that this year’s exhibition is based on the concept of “design without boundaries.” Design is not limited to any specific area. Every aspect of life is a part of design, i.e. food, culture, etc. “Of course, the entire city must also incorporate the concept of design,” he said.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\nA child plays in the “Inclusive Play” area filled with inclusive playground equipment.\r\n\r\nKurosaki set up a series of “Tea for Peace” events at the exhibition. They present the combined features of Japanese and Taiwanese tea cultures. His team also designed a special tea cart for the tea events. Those who came to the exhibition before September 30 had a taste of exquisite Japanese tea.\r\n \r\nBy working with Kurosaki, Wang saw this year’s exhibition as a boost for Taipei to become an international city. She hopes that viewers from here and overseas will like Taipei through the three-week event.\r\n \r\n“The goal of design is to improve a city,” Wang said. “We can see diverse cultures integrated into Taipei, and Taiwan is linking up with the world.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\n“The Human Trap,” created by Stockholm-based sculptor Evelina Kollberg,\r\nis definitely the highlight of Taipei Design and City Exhibition.\r\n \r\nThe theme of this year’s exhibition, “Taipei All Inclusive,” was the outcome of Taiwan-Japan cooperation. The two curators hope that by seeing nearly 40 domestic and international design presentations, viewers can better understand how design helps to solve a wide variety of social phenomena as modern cities develop.\r\n \r\n“Design can be used as one of the best methods for cities to become more inclusive,” Wang said.\r\n \r\nLocated at the No. 4 Warehouse, the “Playing Arts” gives visitors a myriad of aesthetic experiences. Wang explained that exhibits from Japan, Finland and Taiwan serve to develop an aesthetic sense for the beautiful and to accept the importance of aesthetic education.\r\n \r\nArtistic experience plays an important role in aesthetic education. The “Playing Arts” area was designed to have a number of multimedia interactive experience devices. For example, Taiwanese artist Hu Kun-jung’s presented his geometric abstract artwork, “The Rite of Spring,” in a three-dimensional way. Part of the collection of Taipei Fine Arts Museum, his creation aims to help children develop the ability to enjoy art and beauty by engaging in design.\r\n \r\nThe “Happy Aging” area is next to “Playing Arts.” Viewers can see how universal design can make life easier and safer for the elderly. Universal design means products, buildings, and environments accessible and usable by everyone, regardless of age or disability.\r\n \r\nWang selected a couple of excellent cases to introduce the concept of home exchange plans and intergenerational housing cooperatives where elderly people live together with young adults to help Taiwan’s elderly.\r\n \r\nIn April 2018, the Interior Ministry announced that Taiwan had officially transitioned from an “aging society” to an “aged society,” with slightly over 14 percent of its population now 65 years old or above. In other words, one out of every seven people is now in that age group.\r\n \r\nIn the “Happy Aging” area, there are some replicas of units in the Yangming Senior Apartment in Taipei City. Meanwhile, a series of events will be held for the elderly to help foster flexible thinking and develop healthy body and mind.\r\n \r\nLocated in the “Street Activation” area, Gufeng Little White House is a volunteer-run, community service dedicated to encouraging the repair and reuse of goods rather than dumping them in landfill. The group teaches people to see their possessions in a new light and appreciate their value once again. Many volunteers have been recruited to act as repair experts. During the exhibition, some repair specialists will stay at the exhibition space to provide furniture and home appliance repair services.\r\n \r\nIn addition, viewers can see how other countries improve their communities through a couple of examples of street activism and community sharing from Japan and the U.S. These examples help change people’s mindset. This is essential to kindle people’s enthusiasm for a sustainable society.\r\n \r\nIn the “Inclusive Play” area, Wang tried to create play environments by using inclusive playground equipment that welcome kids and families of all abilities to learn, play and grow together.\r\n \r\nJust as the name suggests, the meaning of inclusive playgrounds goes beyond their physical space and specialized equipment. These playgrounds do so much for the communities. They educate and bring families and people together. They stress the importance of inclusion in daily activities, no matter the ability level. They prove that kids of all abilities enjoy exploring, learning, interacting and having fun together.\r\n \r\nTo promote inclusion, Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs has worked with a couple of civil groups and designers to create inclusive playgrounds that harmonize playground equipment with the local cultural landscape.\r\n \r\nA wide variety of topics from edible food, food waste, and slow fashion will be discussed in the “Green Life” area. Program designers from different countries and cultural backgrounds recognize the importance of zero waste and try to come up with specific solutions.\r\n \r\nFor example, the Ximending-based Eco Tano Workshop offers a number of hand-woven products from recycled fabric to promote the concept of slow fashion and sustainable use.\r\n \r\nIn addition, Stockholm-based sculptor Evelina Kollberg’s artwork “The Human Trap” is definitely the highlight of this year’s exhibition. Kollberg discovered the method of crochet when she studied at Paris College of Art in 2014 as an Erasmus scholar. She also won a scholarship from Ung Svensk Form 2017 (the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design) through one of her sculptures.\r\n \r\n“The Human Trap” is a monumental crochet interactive sculpture, an adult playground, and a place for our inner nature to come alive and play. Made of recycled fabric and metal construction, it encourages viewers to understand the materials used by crawling through it.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nA series of arts and cultural events, held by Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), has kicked off in the culturally rich neighborhoods of Zhongshan and will run until October 28. The one-and-a-half-month events include 3 pieces of installation artwork, 10 cross-disciplinary literary creative activities, 10 indie concerts, and 6 Zhongshan walking tours.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nThe DCA Commissioner Chung Yung-feng (fourth from left) attends the Sept. 14 press conference\r\nto announce the kickoff of arts and cultural events in the Zhongshan District.\r\n \r\nAt the opening ceremony on September 14, the DCA Commissioner Chung Yung-feng said that unlike the past cultural activities held by the DCA, this year’s events have attracted local stores, the community, local designers, and artists to take part in an art dialogue and enable the public to feel the touch of Taiwan’s local arts and culture.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nTaiwan’s artist Wang Ching-fu uses a traditional Chinese character “cai (財, meaning ‘fortune’)\r\nto explain the ideas behind his creation.\r\n \r\nWith a long history of development, the Zhongshan Shuanglian District is filled with the strong human touch of historic neighborhoods. Diverse architectural styles also provide a retro, tranquil, and beautiful backdrop for this area.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nTaiwanese artist Hsu Ting-jui’s artwork “The Young” allows the public\r\nto take photos on horseback.\r\n \r\nThe Taipei City Government did a comprehensive planning and design for the Zhongshan Underground Book Street last year, and a renovation plan for the MRT Zhongshan Shaunglian Belt Park at the beginning of the year to offer the public new cultural experiences.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\n“The Young,” by Taiwan’s artist Hsu Ting-jui, an installation artwork of three iron horses.\r\n \r\nThe first piece of installation artwork was created by local artist Wang Ching-fu who used traditional Chinese characters such as “chuan (傳, meaning something handed down from generation to generation);” “cai (財, meaning ‘fortune’);” and “fu (福, meaning ‘good luck’)” Local shops and residents helped select the characters. By using dark iron plates, the artist created galvanized metal word art to highlight Chifeng Street, once known as the “iron street,” in the Zhongshan District.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\n“Black Widow,” by French artist Djeff, has motion sensors that create optical illusions.\r\n \r\nThe second piece “The Young,” created by Taiwanese metal artist Hsu Ting-jui, is an installation artwork of three iron horses. It aims to arouse childhood memories among the local residents.\r\n \r\nThe last one “Black Widow,” created by French contemporary artist Djeff, is an interactive installation of a bewitching spider web. Lights installed on the floor create an optical illusion for viewers. The installation seeks to transmit the need to care for the environment.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nNow in its 4th year, Taipei Public Arts Project kicked off with the story of Wanxin Railway – a branch line that once connected Wanhua and Xindian. This year’s festival continues the concept of “Unseen Taipei” and will run until October 21. The project will temporarily restore some of Taipei’s disappearing landscape through 3 pieces of public artworks as well as a series of events such as 8 literary walking tours, 10 art lectures, 6 workshops, and 2 temporary street closings.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\nThe DCA Deputy Commissioner Tien Wei (center in the first row) announces\r\nthe kickoff of Taipei Public Arts Project, which will run until October 21.\r\n \r\nBuilt in 1921, Wanxin Railway became part of history in 1965. During the Qing Dynasty, it traversed the south area of downtown Taipei City and is now known as Dingzhou Road.\r\n \r\nTien Wei, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), said that like the present-day Taipei MRT, Wanxin Railway once symbolized the modernization and development of the south area of downtown Taipei City. Local artists now use the latest interactive technology to restore the original glory of Wanxin Railway.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\nChildren draw a number of the railway carriages to symbolize the future of a new journey.\r\n \r\nThe south area of downtown Taipei City now includes Toad Mountain, Treasure Hill, Taipei Water Park, the Wen-Luo-Ding area (Wenzhou, Roosevelt, and Dingzhou Roads), Taipei City Hakka Cultural Park, and the Kishu An Forest of Literature in Taipei.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\nA father and son interact with a piece of public artworks to create\r\na series of railway images through the mirror effect.\r\n \r\nSurrounded by Xindian River and Nangang Mountain System, that south area has nurtured a wide variety of immigrant cultures, settlements, natural ecology, plus literary and art landscapes.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\nSeveral three-dimensional Chinese characters are scattered on the grassland\r\nof the Kishu An Forest of Literature in Taipei.\r\n \r\n“It means that the south area of downtown Taipei City is a combination of new and old developments, urban and natural landscapes, plus mainstream culture and subculture,” Tien said.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPAP\r\nOne viewer touches a piece of temporary public artwork to better understand\r\nthe story of Wanxin Railway.\r\n \r\nThe project curator Zhou De-hao explained that “Unseen Taipei,” the theme of this year’s festival, can be divided into three temporary artworks – the unseen Wanxin Railway, the unseen culture and art, plus the unseen waterfront of Xindian River. Apart from railway history, viewers can also watch the disappearing Wanxin Railway through AR (augmented reality) technology.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nTaipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) held a press conference on September 19 for the annual Taipei Poetry Festival, curated by two poets Hung Hung and Yang Chia-hsien, who hope that more people appreciate the beauty of poetry and songs.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPF\r\nThe DCA Commissioner Chung Yung-feng (from left to right), VR artist Yang Nai-chen, poet-in-residence Nicholas Wong, curators Yang Chia-hsien, and Hung Hung attend the Sept. 19 press conference to announce the kickoff of Taipei Poetry Festival.\r\n \r\nThe festival that runs from September 22 to October 17 has a total of 19 events that include 1 large-scale performance, 1 poetry exhibition, 5 poetry films, and 10 lectures. Four poets from Russia, Catalonia, Hong Kong and Myanmar, as well as one poet-in-residence from Hong Kong have come to Taiwan for poetry exchange.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPF\r\n

Curators Hung Hung (left) and Yang Chia-hsien expect that poetry can become a medium for rewriting the meaning of urban space.

\r\n \r\nThe theme of this year’s festival is “Heterotopia of Poetry,” which aims to transform Taipei into a poetic city.\r\n \r\n“The idea of utopia is used to express an imaginary, virtual world,” said Yang, one of the curators. “But the idea of heterotopia can be put into practice in the real world by redefining the meaning of a space.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPF\r\nPoet-in-residence Nicholas Wong from Hong Kong recites a poem “Onlys,” which he wrote for Taipei City.\r\n \r\nFor example, youngsters often gather at the underground shopping street of Taipei Main Station on weekends to learn and practice street dance moves. Yang said that this was an expression of heterotopia because it transforms the underground street into a dancing venue. She hopes that through this year’s festival, poetry can become a medium for rewriting the meaning of urban space.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPF\r\nPoet-in-residence Nicholas Wong from Hong Kong immerses himself in a poetic world by getting the real experience of VR interaction.\r\n \r\nTaipei Poetry Festival always emphasizes the contemporary feel of a city, the DCA Commissioner Chung Yung-feng said, adding that this year’s event will combine virtual reality (VR) and music performances to lead more people into poetry.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TPF\r\nOne scene of the VR poetry show – “The Crossed Paths of a Poetry Worm” during the Taipei Poetry Festival.\r\n \r\nNow in its 18th year, the festival kicked off with a VR poetry show – “The Crossed Paths of a Poetry Worm.” This was the first time that we’d integrated VR experiences into the poetry festival, curator Hung Hung said. “This new experiment will enable the audience to immerse themselves in a poetic world.”

\r\nPhoto from TFAM\r\nThe TFAM director Lin Ping says that the reopening of the south gate\r\nwill allow for natural light and air flow through the entire building.\r\n\r\nBy Yali Chen\r\n \r\nTaipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) reopened to the public July 21 after nine-month renovations, with four new exhibitions attracting visitors to develop a taste for art museums.\r\n \r\nHundreds of citizens flocked to the Taipei-based museum as it reopened its doors after a ceremony attended by two former TFAM directors and Chung Yung-feng, Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs.\r\n \r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nTaipei Fine Arts Museum reopens to the general public July 21 after extensive renovation work.\r\n\r\n“The museum will reopen its doors in stages,” said Lin Ping, the current director of TFAM. “The museum lobby and basement have reopened July 21 in its first stage. Admission is free.”\r\n \r\nThe historical district on the second floor is set to reopen August 25 with a retrospective exhibition chronicling Taiwan’s important contemporary artists. Ticket sales for the international photographic exhibition on the third floor will be resumed September 29. The annual main event “Taipei Biennial” is slated to run from November 2018 through March 2019.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nAn architectural model of TFAM designed by architect Gao Er-pan.\r\n \r\nSince mid-October 2017, TFAM has started a number of refurbishment projects, including replacement of electric circuits and air conditioners, as well as gallery wall and flooring materials.\r\n \r\nLin said that the 35-year-old building had undergone extensive renovation work in an effort to provide a better space for its exhibits by controlling the temperature and humidity accurately.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nAt the reopening ceremony this past July 21, the TFAM director Lin Ping talks about the museum’s refurbishment work and future development.\r\n \r\n“More importantly, we have reopened the museum’s south entrance,” the TFAM director said. “This move will not only enable natural air and light to penetrate into the whole building, but also allow visitors to access the museum via its south gate.”\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by Bill Cheng\r\nOne visitor passing by the lobby of Taipei Fine Arts Museum.\r\n\r\n Lin also mentioned that the reopening of the south gate will enable visitors to gain a better understanding of the ideas behind TFAM architect Gao Er-pan’s creation. His original design was to make the museum bathed in natural light and with beautiful city views.\r\n\r\nLin hopes that the Taipei-based museum cannot be just an exhibition space. She expects it to function as a cross-disciplinary theater and large living room for cultural exchanges between Taiwan and other countries in the future.\r\n

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"Source": "https://english.culture.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=8F944957712BA2B8&s=379504620F17DEC5",
"title": "2018 ADAM Network to harness artistic energies of the Asia-Pacific",
"Content": "The second annual Asia Discovers Asia Meeting for Contemporary Performance (ADAM) took place\r\nfrom August 30 to September 2 at the Taipei City Hakka Cultural Park. More than 200 artists, curators and arts venue managers from Europe and the Asia-Pacific attended this year’s ADAM Annual Meeting.\r\n \r\nThirty-four performances were presented to foster the diverse artistic energies of the Asia-Pacific in a period of four days. The presentations included the Artist Lab, an artist-in-residency program, as well as the Kitchen and Assembly programs.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nThe “First birthday choosing ceremony” was the theme of the press conference that officially opened the ADAM Annual Meeting and celebrated ADAM’s first anniversary.\r\n\r\nTaipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC) initiated ADAM in 2017 as a platform for artists in the Asia-Pacific region. “ADAM seeks to broaden and sustain interaction among artists and to encourage cooperation among them,” said Curator River Lin. “We foster their presence in arts venues and become arts festival partners in the Asia-Pacific region.”\r\n \r\nIn traditional Chinese culture, parents know about their children’s interests by letting them choose from among a variety of presents on their first birthday. This “First birthday choosing ceremony” was the theme of the press conference that officially opened the ADAM Annual Meeting and celebrate ADAM’s first anniversary.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nTaipei Culture Foundation Deputy Director Shuling Yang ( 2nd row, 5th from right), TPAC Director Austin Wang (to Yang’s right), Taipei Arts Festival Curator Fuquan Deng (3rd row, first from right), with artists from the Asia Pacific.\r\n\r\n“Through dialogue and sharing, experimentation and innovation, this is a network based on mutual trust and benefit, and a spirit of collaboration,” said TPAC Director Austin Wang. “Such a network expresses the cultural diversity of the Asia-Pacific; TPAC is thus not only a venue for the arts, but also a platform for artists to express their creativity.”\r\n \r\nThe Artists’ Lab\r\n \r\nThis presentation begins with one person, and then grows to a group of two, three or four people. One person interacts with another at only one point. Groups of artists then move about in a dark rehearsal room, creating illusory lighting images. This was how Australian artist Justin Shoulder expressed an Artist Lab workshop that combined lighting and human interaction to stimulate artistic inspiration.\r\n \r\nThis year, for the first time, the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong, Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay of Singapore, Performance Space of Sydney, and Creative New Zealand came together to organize ADAM’s Artist Lab. Taiwanese artist Huang Ding-Yun and Thai artist Henry Tan were this year’s Artist Lab guest curators. They set the theme of “Performativity of the In-between” to encourage artists to explore the concept of identity in cross-disciplinary practices.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\nAustralian artist Justin Shoulder’s Artist Lab workshop combined lighting and human interaction to stimulate artistic inspiration.\r\n\r\nA total of 178 applications were received from artists all over the world working in a variety of disciplines. Twelve were chosen. In addition, the four international partners above selected one artist to join this residency program. The outcome was 16 artists from 11 countries: Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.\r\n \r\nThe 16 artists participated in workshops and engaged in collaborative artistic creations during the residency program launched on August 15. They also experienced various aspects of Taiwanese culture such as a trip to Yilan, a visit to the god Ji Gong, flower arranging and handicrafts. The results of this residency program were announced during the ADAM Annual Meeting.\r\n \r\nKitchen: Supporting artists at each stage of the creative process\r\n \r\nFor the Kitchen program, artists were invited to present works that were in development and that were based on cross-cultural exchanges, research or a specific issue. This year, of eight such productions shown, six were created by multinational teams of artists, such as Deities of Disappearing Island, a project based on fieldwork on the history and urban socio-ecological system of Shezi Island. It was a collaboration between Formosa Circus Art (Taiwan) and Leeroy New (Philippines).\r\n\r\n\r\nTPAC Director Austin Wang says that ADAM reflects the soft power of the arts.\r\n \r\nTheater directors Wei Ying-Chuan (Taiwan) and Ong Keng-Sen (Singapore) jointly presented Conversation in the Quest of the New Myths of Ocean and Earth, a workshop which explored the mythology of the South Pacific islands and alternative forms of embodied narrative. Another work-in-progress is a collaborative production between Taiwan and France initiated by TPAC’s participation in a residency program of the Centre National de la Danse (CN D). Ana Rita Teodoro (Portugal), associate artist of CN D, created Yellow or Grandma is Tired along with Taiwanese artists Lin Wen-Chung, Lin Yen-Ching, Hung Wei-Yao and Li Li-Chin.\r\n \r\nAssembly: Looking out at Asia from the window\r\n \r\nADAM’s Assembly program gathered together artists and curators from various disciplines to participate in lectures, workshops and discussions to present the most up-to-date information and trends in the contemporary arts of the Asia-Pacific region. Participants included representatives from the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa, Asian Contemporary Circus Network in Seoul, Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting, Chang Theatre, iPANDA and Theater Commons Tokyo among others.\r\n \r\nCurators Low Kee-Hong (Hong Kong), Jeff Khan (Australia), Claire Hicks (Australia) and Huang Ding-Yun (Taiwan), initiated four Artist Roundtables that explored feminist practices, sensitive areas between the arts and politics, and contemporaneity and performativity of contemporary art. Curators from the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and the Ming Contemporary Art Museum in Shanghai came together for the first time to engage in dialogue on curating live art within the developmental context of visual arts in East Asia.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DOCA\r\n“ADAM seeks to broaden and sustain interaction among artists and to encourage cooperation among them,” said Curator River Lin.\r\n\r\nCARAVANE: Establishing mechanisms for international collaboration\r\n \r\nThis year, ADAM presented CARAVANE, a collaborative project with CN D, to develop a mobile CN D where artistic resources extended beyond France to serve more artists and audiences. The project presentation was also a warm-up to Camping Asia, a joint project between TPAC and CN D to be launched in 2019.\r\n \r\nCamping Asia will emphasize the cultivation of talent, especially young talent, and artistic education, and will echo ADAM’s experimental spirit in the development of artistic innovation. Camping Asia will take place from November 18 to 29, 2019 in Taipei. Based on the French experience and Taiwan’s unique features, this could serve to strengthen links among artists, schools and students in Asia and Europe.\r\n \r\nPress contacts:\r\n \r\nTaipei Performing Arts Center Chris Tseng 0978-322-873 chris.tseng@tapc-taipei.org\r\nTaipei Performing Arts Center Chen Ku-Yu 0921-179-865 kuyuchen@tpac-taipei.org",
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"Source": "https://english.culture.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=8F944957712BA2B8&s=D15BC32C7A93B6ED",
"title": "A new fine arts museum and new contemporary art park for Taipei",
"Content": "By Jewell Hsu\r\n \r\n

“Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) is already 35 years old; it’s time to think about its next stage,” said Deputy Taipei Mayor Lin Chin-rong (林欽榮) at the press conference to launch the Taipei Contemporary Art Park project.\r\n \r\nThe new art park will be the location of a second TFAM building twice as big as the current one and will be located underneath the present Taipei Expo Park which will then be renamed Taipei Contemporary Art Park. The new 48,000 m² art museum, plus the current 24,000 m² one will total more than 72,000 m², the size of a national level park.\r\n\r\n\r\nDOCA Photo\r\nLeft to right, Lin Chin-rong (林欽榮) Taipei City Deputy Mayor; Lin Jou-Min(林洲民); Taipei City Commissioner of the Department of Urban Development; Chung, Yung-Feng(鍾永豐), Commissioner of Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs; and\r\nLin Ping(林平), Director of Taipei Fine Arts Museum. They jointly launched the Taipei Contemporary Art Park Project.\r\n\r\n \r\nTaipei Fine Arts Museum was founded in 1983, as Taiwan’s first museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art, and the official art museum of the capital city. Its mission is to promote the preservation, research, development and popularization of Taiwanese modern and contemporary art; to keep abreast of global trends and establish channels for exchange, and to raise the general public’s understanding of and participation in contemporary art.\r\n \r\n\r\nDOCA Photo\r\nA bird's eyeview of the new Contemporary Art park\r\n\r\nUnderstanding its importance for Taipei citizens, the Taipei City Government decided to build a second TFAM at a location where citizens could enjoy art amidst a garden setting.\r\n \r\nThe Urban Development Department of the Department of Cultural Affairs, is working with the Taipei Fine Arts Museum on the Art Park project that will have a total construction budget of NT$5.3 billion and is expected to finish by 2022.\r\n

The Taipei City Government’s Department of Culture Affairs (DOCA) has actively promoted cultural and artistic exchanges with Southeast Asian cities in the past three years. DOCA is cooperating with the International Arts Festival by recommending or inviting outstanding performance teams to perform at the festival which attracts other art festival directors or curators. DOCA helps introduce Taipei’s art performance groups to the international community and thus helps them expand their international market. Moreover, such efforts demonstrate that Taipei is an international art city.\r\n\r\nFrom August 16 to 19 this year, Department of Culture Affairs’ Commissioner Chung Yung-feng will lead a delegation that includes three outstanding Taipei performance teams and entrepreneurs from Taiwan’s cultural and creative industries to participate in the George Town Festival from August 12 to 19 in Malaysia. Taipei City’s Anarchy Dance Theatre, La Cie MaxMind, and the Puella Magi Madoka Magica will each have two performances from August 17 to 19 during the Festival’s “Isle to Isle: Spotlight Taiwan Week.”\r\n \r\nCommissioner Chung will also meet with George Town City Art Director Joe Sidek on ways to increase exchanges between Taipei City and the Second Art Festival.\r\n \r\nThis year, the George Town Arts Festival will cooperate with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia. Representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Quanta Arts Foundation, Taiwan Film Institute, and Taiwan Cinema Toolkit have also been invited to the Festival. During the festival, Taipei’s Department of Culture Affairs and the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park will present three lectures to promote Taiwan Lovely Home Lifestyle Market magazine.\r\n \r\nDuring “Spotlight Taiwan Week,” Commissioner Chung will share the successful experience of Taipei City in holding three major art festivals: the Taipei Film Festival, Nuit Blance, and the Treasure Hill Light Festival. These were the implementation of the city’s “Cultural Policy Innovation and Art Festivals.”\r\n \r\nThe Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, the premier cultural venue in Taipei, will lead in the promotion of the concept behind the “Lovely Home Lifestyle Market” magazine. For seven years, Songshan Park has been the venue for artists and creative groups to hold exhibitions and activities that express that lifestyle concept.\r\n \r\nSongshan Park Executive Director Jasmine Zhou will also give a speech during “Spotlight Taiwan Week,” and Evan Lin, curator of the ‘Taiwan Lovely Home’ Lifestyle Market will share his expertise on curating a lifestyle and creative market. He will speak of how just as beautiful plants grow using light, markets grow with the ‘light’ of many different aspects. Ten original Taiwan brands will likewise in the Taiwan Week.\r\n \r\nThe three art performance groups will show how the world has gradually recognized their unique art. Taipei City’s Anarchy Dance Theatre combines dance with technology. They will perform their flagship production called “Second Body.” La Cie MaxMind will present how their art is deeply rooted in oriental culture and how Taiwan is ultimately the fountain of their creativity. By combining traditional and contemporary elements in their performance, they express an underlying intention of constant dialogue with the world. They will perform their original composition “Fluffy Weeds” which was nominated for the 15th Taishin Visual Arts Award and was featured during the 2018 Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA) held at the National Theater and Concert Hall. The Puella Magi Madoka Magica will perform “Kahabu: Break Speech,” that was chosen for the Songyan Creative Lab project. Kahabu explores the relationship between language and culture.\r\n \r\nGeorge Town is located in Penang, Malaysia (Malay name: Pulau Pinang). Penang is one of Malaysia’s 13 federal states. It is one of the most important cities in Malaysia for its urbanization and industrialization. The George Town Arts Festival is an annual one-month art event that features a variety of cultural, artistic, and material culture heritage and community events. When UNESCO listed George Town as a World Heritage Site in 2010, Penang gradually became a venue for bringing together international artists. In addition to holding international high-quality art performances and visual art works, the festival is also dedicated to promoting cooperation between local and foreign artists. It is regarded as one of the most influential large-scale art events in Southeast Asia.

The Taipei City Government’s Department of Culture Affairs (DOCA) has actively promoted cultural and artistic exchanges with Southeast Asian cities over the past three years. DOCA supports the International Arts Festival by recommending or inviting outstanding performance teams to participate in the festival which attracts other art festival directors or curators. DOCA introduces Taipei’s art performance groups to the international community and thus helps them expand their international market. Moreover, such efforts demonstrate that Taipei is an international art city.\r\n \r\nFrom August 13 to 16, this year, Department of Culture Affairs’ Commissioner Chung Yung-feng joins the Ju Percussion Group (JPG) in attending Indonesia’s Salihara International Performing Arts Festival (SIPFEST). Commissioner Chung will also discuss future cooperation with Nirwan Dewanto, director of the Salihara Festival. On August 14th and 15th, the Ju Percussion Group will perform at SIPFEST. The Department of Culture Affairs bestowed the Prestigious Team title on the percussion group and Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture also named it a representative brand for Taiwan’s art performance groups.\r\n \r\nJu Percussion Group was founded 30 years ago. DOCA cited the group’s art creativity as well as its contribution to education and culture in granting it the title of Prestigious Team. In the past five years, JPG has been increasing its overseas performances, taking Taiwan’s traditional and modern art performances to the international stage. Audiences in Europe, America and Asia have acclaimed the group’s artistic output. Professional performance groups have expressed their desire to enter into cooperative ventures with JPG.\r\n \r\nThe Department of Culture Affairs responded to such calls for increased cooperation by implementing the “Go Southeast Asia: A Stunning Virtuosity” concert performance project. In cooperation with the Taipei City Orchestra, the concert’s theme is the interconnection of Taiwan’s performing arts with the rest of the world, a starting point for many and diverse activities.\r\n \r\nIndonesia’s Salihara International Performing Arts Festival (SIPFEST) is held every two years. It is a dance, drama and music festival that features performances by top international artists, and world-class Indonesian performers. It has become an important event for Indonesia.\r\n \r\n“A Stunning Virtuosity” will feature five of Ju Percussion Group’s 230 commissioned performances: "Trilogy", "Allure", "Daybreak", “Drum Festival, and “J Effect.” These pieces were chosen to convey the unique culture and artistic refinement of Taiwanese artistic expressions. National artist Peiling Zhong will play the pipa (lute) and accompany JPG in performing Allure, composed by Liu Yuyun. Liu composed the music for the lute in a performance of “The Marriage of Zhong Kui’s Sister,” a traditional folk tale.\r\n \r\nKomunitas Salihara, located south of Jakarta, is Indonesia's first non-government multi-art center. It was set up by writers, artists, journalists and art lovers. Since its inception in 2008, it has been the venue of many artistic creations and a vehicle for international exchanges and creative projects with international groups. The Salihara Music Festival was first held here in 2008. In 2016, the festival changed its name to Salihara International Performing Arts Festival, one of Indonesia’s most important art events.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nThe Digital Art Center (DAC), Taipei, reopened with the cooperation of the Association of the Visual Arts in Taiwan (AVAT) and held a fascinating exhibition to explore the relationship between home appliances and digital art.\r\n \r\nThe AVAT has taken charge of the DAC operations since April 2018. Themed “Lifetime Warranty – The Romance of Home Appliances,” the exhibition functioned as the first step of the Taipei-based DAC, which reopened to the general public on June 16.\r\n \r\n\r\nPhoto from DAC\r\nThe DCA commissioner Chung Yung-feng (first from right) at the exhibition\r\n“Lifetime Warranty – The Romance of Home Appliances.”\r\n\r\n“It was not easy for the center to reopen,” said Chung Yung-feng, Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA). He hopes that the new partner AVAT will develop a good relationship with local communities and open up a wide range of possibilities for the center.\r\n \r\n“Our opening press conference was specially held on the square in front of the DAC in a move to make the public know that the center had been reborn,” the DAC chief executive officer Loh Li-chen said. “After its reopening, the DAC, located nearby the Tianmu Store of hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan, aims to develop a very good relationship with the surrounding neighborhoods and schools. We expect that the DAC will be integrated into the daily lives of local residents.”\r\n \r\nRunning from June 16 until August 4, the new exhibition has become a good start for the center, Loh said, adding that besides showcases, the DAC will also play an important role in nurturing digital artists, holding digital art festivals, and participating in international exchange programs.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nThe DAC chief executive officer Loh Li-chen has high expectations\r\nfor the DAC’s future development.\r\n \r\n“Digital art is an important part of contemporary art,” said the AVAT chairman Chen Wen-hsiang, who believes that “exhibitions” can serve as a platform for the public to better understand digital art. He also appreciated all the support from the DCA and legislators to enable the center to begin operation again.\r\n \r\nA total of 11 Taiwanese young artists were invited to give live performances and showcase their eight pieces of artworks, including some works from the collections of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMoFA) and National Science and Technology Museum (NSTM), as well as three pieces of new creations.\r\n \r\nThe exhibition centers on household appliances to explore their relationship with digital art. A number of questions were raised about the possibility of home appliances with lifetime warranties.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DAC\r\n“Vanish No.5-6” (2015) by Tao Ya-lun is part of the collection\r\nof the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.\r\n \r\n“We take household appliances as a starting point for viewers to think about digital art,” the exhibition curator Liu Sing-you said, hoping that this exhibition can help change people’s perspective on the digital art center.\r\n \r\nLiu further explained that some of Taiwanese people would buy home appliances as a housewarming gift. Thus, the first exhibition titled “Lifetime Warranty – The Romance of Home Appliances” means a celebration gift for the DAC to attract audiences to visit the center and gain a better understanding of digital art.\r\n \r\nThe digital artists include Chu Chun-teng, Yu Cheng-ta, Wu Shang-yang, Kuo I-chen, Chen Han-sheng, Tao Ya-lun, Peng Yi-hsuan, and Tsai Yu-tin. Their eight pieces on display not only explore some inspiring questions, such as the connection between home appliances and people, plus the linkage between household appliances and family life, but also demonstrate how fun electrical appliances and digital art are combined.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DAC\r\nTwo visitors before Peng Yi-hsuan’s installation artwork “The Death of Light” (2016).\r\n\r\nIn college, Chu had made a number of short films and participated in international film festivals. Inspired by Japanese novelist Kawabata Yasunari’s same-title novel, his graduation work “The House of Sleeping Beauty” was selected into Singapore International Film Festival in 2006 and the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in 2007. In 2010, Chu earned a master’s degree in MFA Fine Art from Goldsmiths, University of London.\r\n \r\nChu’s installation artwork “After the Foaming Weariness” in the Taipei-based DAC showcases a burned-out adaptor – one piece of his previous work “The Foaming Weariness” in 2010 when he used a number of adapters with one Tatung rice cooker to think about the meaning of technology and its use. The burned-out adapter symbolizes part of the young artist’s soul abandoned or left behind over time.\r\n \r\nStudying art at Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA) in Taiwan, Yu has held several gallery and museum exhibitions at Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Taichung-based NTMoFA. The artist specializes in employing humor as a means to make connections or create accidents in his video works.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from DAC\r\nTsai Yu-tin’s work “ake-believe” (2018) uses digital images to link\r\nhome appliances in the 1980s with modern ones.\r\n \r\n“Ours Karaoke” (2011) is one of the artist’s video installations. In this video project, Yu invited his friends to sing karaoke in front of his webcam. This YouTube-like video collected by a series of clips from his friends’ extemporaneous performances meets the desire of performers and viewers simultaneously.\r\n \r\nWu earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the TNUA in 2015. He explores the relationships among images, light, carriers, machinery, body, and space through a wide variety of media including projection, installation, on-site production, and performance art.\r\n \r\nThanks to smartphones, recording videos has never been so easy or effortless. Wu recorded a series of videos on a mobile phone to create his video work “Inbetweening: No.4” in 2018. He also added the concept of inbetweening into his creation. As a key process in all types of animation, including computer animation, inbetweening generates intermediate frames between two images, called key frames, to give the appearance that the first image evolves smoothly into the second one. Wu tries to create a new interrelationship between light and space, thereby redefining the meaning of smartphones.\r\n \r\nIn 2007, Kuo earned a master’s degree in new media art from the TNUA. Through a wide range of media such as interactive units, single-channel video and performance art, he has created his unique poetic artistic language.\r\n \r\nIn 2005, Kuo became the youngest-ever artist to represent Taiwan in the Venice Biennale and won the first prize of Taipei Art Award. His new installation artwork “Full HD TV-Buddha” (2018) pays tribute to Korean-American artist Nam June Paik, regarded as the founder of video art. Paik was famed for his classic work, “TV Buddha” – a video installation depicting a Buddha statue viewing its own live image on a closed circuit TV.\r\n \r\nKuo used a broken CRT monitor to reflect full-HD TV images in Paik’s “TV Buddha”. The two monitors from different eras facing each other demonstrate that the invention and ubiquity of TV reflect technological progress.\r\n \r\nIn 2015, Chen earned a master’s degree in new media art from the TNUA. He excels in experimental animation, mixed media, and kinetic installation. His themes often include agriculture, nature, and the coexistence of human beings with their environment.\r\n \r\nChen’s new creation “Walk and Look” in 2018 is a good example of anthropomorphism. The young artist gave human characteristics to home appliances, robot vacuum cleaners in particular. In his opinion, the robot vacuums moving around freely seem to be the smartest electronic creatures in a house. With anthropomorphic projections, he reexamined the impact of electrical appliances on humans.\r\n \r\nAs a leading figure in Taiwan’s new media arts, Tao explores the meaning of human existence in the era of technology to provoke contemplation and reflection. His artworks are renowned for the integration of machinery with lights and images. Two pieces of his creations, “Vanish No.5-6 (2015)”, have been collected by the Taichung-based NTMoFA.\r\n \r\nPeng turned mosquito lamps into his installation artwork “The Death of Light” (2016). One showroom of the Taipei-based DAC is filled with a number of mosquito lamps. “Are viewers waiting for mosquitos or digital art?” asked by the Tainan-based new media artist.\r\n \r\nTsai’s creation “ake-believe” (2018) combines white glue frottage and the technology of soft films. The artist turned her work into children’s toys for playing house and put them with the antique electrical devices in the eighties borrowed from the Taichung-based NSTM to create the imagination between families and home appliances.\r\n \r\nThis special exhibition will run until August 4. A creation show combining sound and dance will be given on July 6. The organizers are also set to hold a seminar on curating and creation on the same day. A DIY workshop for home appliance repair will be held on July 21. For more details, please go to https://dac.tw/

Taipei’s historic Ximen Red House is where tradition and innovation meet. After one and a half years of restoration work under the cooperation of Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) and Taipei Culture Foundation, the Ximending’s most iconic building reopened March 1, 2018, hoping to establish itself as a hotspot for cultural and creative industries in the capital.\r\n \r\nCharlene Chao, Director of the Red House and Taipei Cinema Park, said that the historic building was in urgent need of refurbishment, as well as rewiring and upgrading of mechanical and electrical (M&E) services due to the much-needed conservation of the century-old building and its artifacts.\r\n \r\nThe renovation work aimed to upgrade and expand the aging facilities of the Red House to enhance its capacity in promoting Taipei’s cultural and creative sectors and facilitate its long-term development as one of the most important cultural centers in the capital.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nDuring the restoration work, the truss structures are reinforced to support\r\nthe umbrella-like roof on the second floor of the historic building.\r\n \r\nThe old building had been temporarily closed to the public from August 8, 2016 for a period of one and a half years until late February, 2018, Chao said. In an effort to provide a better visiting experience, the DCA spent nearly NT$50 million on the refurbishment work, including structural reinforcement; facade restoration; roofing, window, and door repairs; replacement of water pipes, electric circuits, and air conditioners; improvement of automatic fire alarm equipment and lighting facilities; and replacement of the flooring material.\r\n \r\n“Increasing the amount of natural light can make the space look lighter and brighter. All the dirt on the exterior wall of the Ximen Red House was also completely cleaned to make the whole building bright red,” Chao said. “While walking into the Red House now, you can see an eye-catching retrospective exhibition chronicling the development of the building starting from 1908 through 2018.”\r\n \r\nOne of the most important characteristics of the Red House lies in steel trusses used to support the umbrella-like roof in the second-floor theater of the century-old building. The truss structures were also reinforced during the renovation work.\r\n\r\nChao assured that the originality of the building had been preserved, stressing: “The Red House is an important historical site for tourists from Taiwan and overseas, and has historical value.”\r\n \r\nThe Red House is an octagonal-shaped two-story structure, designed by Japanese architect Kondo Juro. It was built in 1908 to serve as Taipei’s first public market.\r\n \r\nThe building features an octagonal entrance and cross-shaped floor plan – a bagua design considered boldly creative then. The cross-shaped building was incorporated to the rear of the main octagonal-shaped structure. Thus, the Octagon Building, Cruciform Building, plus the adjacent south and north squares are now collectively known as the “Ximen Red House.”\r\n \r\nIn those early years, the Red House market attracted a large number of visitors for trade and entertainment. Vendors sold flowers, books, clothes, dried goods, local produce, and imported goods from Japan. During festivals, residents from neighboring districts met at the market entrance because it was a popular spot in the Ximending district.\r\n \r\nDuring the period of Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945, the red-brick octagonal structure came to symbolize the bustling commercialism of the Ximending district. After 1945, the Red House became a popular performance theater for Chinese storytelling, operas, stage play, and folk art performances.\r\n \r\nIn the 1960s, it was turned into a movie house and became very popular among westernized youngsters with the playing of second-run western films. But the theater fell into disrepair and the west area of Taipei including the Ximending area went into the worst downtime because of the rapid development in the east urban area of Taipei in the 1990s.\r\n \r\nAfter a devastating fire that burned down the Cruciform Building and South-North Square in 2000, the Red House was rebuilt by the joint effort of the city government and local community. Reopening in 2002, it housed a small café and a display on the history of the octagonal structure on the first floor, giving live theater performances on the second floor.\r\n \r\nIn the same year, the nonprofit Paper Windmill Arts Foundation shouldered the responsibility for restoring the Red House Theater to its former glory. But, unable to balance the books, the foundation decided not to renew its bid for management of the property when the contract expired five years later.\r\n \r\nIn November 2007, the DCA commissioned Taipei Culture Foundation to manage the Red House complex in its entirety, including the main Octagon Building, the adjoining Cruciform Building, and the adjacent squares to the north and south of the central structure.\r\n \r\nThe Red House underwent a series of cultural transformation to provide better services for the general public. These days it becomes a multifunctional cultural center with regular live performances and art exhibitions.\r\n \r\nThe first floor of the Red House incorporates a café and gift shop, and also functions as a venue for art exhibitions. A special exhibition of old photographs is being held at the Central Display Area on the first floor. Running from May 8 until June 30, the exhibition showcases an array of black-and-white pictures taken by Wang Gui-lang – a photographer born in a farmer’s family in Changhua County.\r\n \r\n“Through the lens of photographer Wang Gui-lang, you’ll find a rustic view of rural life in early Taiwan and look back on the prosperity of the Ximending commercial district,” Chao said. “Vintage cameras and photography gear that Wang has collected for many years are also on display. The photo exhibition is definitely worth a visit.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nCharlene Chao, Director of the Red House and Taipei Cinema Park, introduces a special exhibition of old photographs on the first floor of the Red House.\r\n\r\nA permanent exhibition on the first floor showcases an array of pictures chronicling the development of the Red House starting from 1908 through 2018. The exhibits also include a brick used for the building construction in 1908, two bricks used for the renovation work in 2002 and 2018 respectively, as well as billboard paintings, movie posters and tickets in 1963. The interior setting and decoration on the first floor are reflecting the old time of Taiwan.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nA brick used for the construction of the Red House in 1908.\r\n\r\nThe second floor of the Red House functions as a theater, hosting a wide variety of programs such as theater shows, musical performances, weddings, receptions, corporate events, and cocktail parties.\r\n \r\nCelebrating its reopening after one-and-a-half-year renovation, the Red House has worked with Taiwanese (Gezai) Opera Association in Taipei to promote the art of Taiwanese opera. The association’s director Chen Ya-lan, a disciple of renowned Taiwanese opera singer Yang Li-hua, founded a Taiwanese opera troupe of the same name.\r\n \r\nChen’s troupe launched a new grand production starring young performers. With black humor, the performance will be given on the second floor from June 29 to July 29 this year. Audience interaction added into the comedy aims to change the stereotype of Taiwanese opera.\r\n \r\nBesides, the one-month event also includes summer camps for parents and kids, workshops for those who love Taiwanese opera, and seminars on the influence of big-name TV Taiwanese opera star Yang.\r\n \r\n“The new production is a marvelous example of the Red House, where tradition meets innovation,” Chao said. Taiwanese opera is a genre of the traditional arts. Chen hopes that her latest adaptation will attract more young people to visit the century-old building.\r\n \r\nThe back of the Cruciform Building is the well-known cultural and creative development center – “16 Creative Boutique,”which sells the creative works and fashionable products of local designers. This is the place that visitors can definitely expect the birth of talented young designers, and their new name brands.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nThe Red House has become a multifunctional creative and cultural center\r\nselling the works of local designers.\r\n \r\nDuring weekends, the north square of the Red House has become the “Creative Bazaar,” where at least 40-50 booths are set up for college students, young designers, and young musicians to show their talents and sell their creative products.\r\n \r\nIn recent years, the Red House has been successfully transformed into a multifunctional cultural center with regular live performances and exhibitions. Come to the Ximending area to enjoy youngsters’ fashion and creativity in Taiwan, and also visit the historic building to better understand its evolution from a public market to a performance theater, a movie house, and a theater/crafts center.

By Leo Maliksi\r\n \r\nTaipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Taipei Film and Culture Association (TFCA) launched the Literature Film Festival on May 3rd.\r\n \r\nThe festival features films that have been adapted from books, such as: The Unbearable Lightness of Being, 1984, The Inner Life of Martin Frost, and Don’t Look Back. Literary adaptation is the re-creation of a novel, short story, or poem into another genre or medium, such as a film, stage play, or video game.\r\n\r\n

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TFCA Photo\r\nActor & writer Morning Mo (莫子儀), right, gives a copy of his book “Sleepless in Taipei”\r\nto Chung Yung-feng, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs.

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Taiwan actor and writer Morning Mo (莫子儀), a guest speaker during the festival press conference, plans to adapt his book Sleepless in Taipei (失眠的人) into a film. The book is a collection of his writings and in it, Mo sought to portray his thoughts as a well-known actor and as an ordinary human being.\r\n \r\nFor Mo, who awakened to the beauty of Literature at the age of 18, adapting a book into another genre is a second creation.\r\n \r\n\r\nTFCA Photo\r\nLeft to right, SPOT Taipei Film House Executive Director Fanyu Wu, Taiwan Film & Culture Association Executive Director Boren Chen, DCA Commissioner Chung Yung-feng, Morning Mo, and Festival Curator Yuanling Yuan at the Press Conference.\r\n\r\n“We usually spend a month or even a shorter time to read a novel,” he said. “But you can’t make a film run for more than 8 hours. This means that viewers spend much less time to enter into the world portrayed in film.”\r\n \r\nThe second creation lies in the process of transforming a book into another genre. “If I convert my novel into a stage musical, rendering the words of the book into song, is actually giving the book’s words a second life,” he said.\r\n \r\n“The words I use in a book could cause sadness on the part of its readers, but I elicit joy from the audience of a stage musical adapted from that book. So now, with my plan to render the stage musical into a film, I’m looking at a third creation.”\r\n\r\n\r\nTFCA Photo\r\nMorning Mo was the special guest at the Press Conference.\r\n \r\nCan creativity be taught? Or is the educational system of Taiwan (and many other countries) just meant to train students to be good workers and follow instructions? Are there measures in place to develop creative talent in Taiwan, especially in Taipei?\r\n \r\nChung Yung-feng, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, said that several measures are in place. “This year, we will complete the construction of a performance theater in the Taipei Music Center,” he said.\r\n \r\nTMC is located on the north-east side of the intersection between Xiangyang Road (向陽路) and Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路). These past years, the city government has also organized classes on the production, composition, and technical recording of pop music as well as Master classes on EDM (Electronic Dance Music) composition.\r\n \r\nThe Taipei Performing Arts Center in Shilin is a venue where all artists can play and experiment with their imagination, said Chung. TPAC offers many resources for artists, curators and producers.\r\n \r\n“Every year, the Taipei Film Commission organizes workshops on script-writing and editing,” said Chung. “We also plan to engage in cooperative ventures and just signed a memorandum of understanding with the San Francisco Film Commission on a program to guide scriptwriters go through the process of creating a script and all the way to filming. We hope that every year, we could jointly produce at least two films.”

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nTaipei Film Festival (TFF) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2018 with a special exhibition featuring the development of Taiwan’s film industry over the past two decades.\r\n \r\nAt the opening ceremony on June 8, several special guests were in attendance to announce the kickoff of the nearly four-month event, including Chung Yung-feng, Commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA); Taipei Culture Foundation Chairman Li Yuan; TFF director Shen Ko-shang; TFF former directors Jeane Huang and Hu Yu-feng; Taiwanese filmmaker Wei Te-sheng; Taiwanese singer/actor Van Fan; and Taiwan-based Japanese actress Chie Tanaka.\r\n\r\n

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Photo from TFF

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The DCA commissioner Chung Yung-feng announces that a 20-year retrospective\r\nof Taipei Film Festival has kicked off June 8 and will run until September 30.\r\n \r\n“The 20 years of TFF equals that of Taiwan’s film history,” Chung said, adding that through this special exhibition, viewers could better understand the influence and importance of the festival on the development of Taiwanese cinema over the past two decades.\r\n \r\nThe commissioner recalled buying a ticket to see the movie “Cape No. 7,” which had broken box office records in 2008. He found that a large number of viewers standing in line for this movie had already seen it many times and still continued purchasing tickets to support Taiwanese films.\r\n \r\n“Such support from film buffs is an important driving force of our festival,” Chung said. “I hope such encouragement from the general public open up more exciting chapters for the TFF in the next 20 years.”\r\n \r\nIn recent years, the DCA has strived to promote the revival of the local film industry and the revitalization of the Bopiliao Historical Block in Taipei’s Wanhua District.\r\n \r\n“Our office was relocated to the Bopiliao Historical Block last year because we had hoped to infuse the festival’s new energy into this old neighborhood,” the TFF director Shen said. “That’s why we held this year’s special exhibition here to celebrate the festival’s 20th anniversary.”\r\n \r\nThe retrospective, titled “Breaking the Rules,” looks back on the history of Taiwan’s film development over the past two decades. Running from June 8 through September 30, it showcases a series of domestic filmmakers’ treasured collection, such as a set of figurines, an elephant model, and clapperboards, as well as original drawings of characters and film set design. The exhibition is free and open to the public.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFF\r\nTaiwan’s director Wei Te-sheng (seated at center) is a household name thanks to\r\nhis film “Cape No 7,” which has broken box office records in Taiwan.\r\n\r\nShen hopes that through these exhibits, viewers can gain a better understanding of the ideas behind these filmmakers’ creations. He also hopes that the festival continue to play an important role in the development of Taiwanese cinema in the next 20 years.\r\n \r\n“Cape No. 7,” directed by Wei Te-sheng, has become Taiwan’s first domestic movie to gross over NT$200 million in the past decade. In celebration of the festival’s 20th anniversary, this film was rerun at 7:30 p.m. on June 8 on the outdoor plaza of the Bopiliao Historical Block. With this movie rerun plus the first-ever showcase of Wei’s manuscripts and storyboards, the TFF is trying to convey the spirit of Taiwanese filmmakers’ independent production.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFF\r\nA set of figurines for “Grandma and Her Ghosts,” directed by\r\naward-winning filmmaker Wang Hsiao-ti.\r\n \r\nAt first Wei just wanted to make an interesting film. “After receiving rapturous acclaim from audiences, I felt that I was doing a great thing because many people had been touched by my movie. Now I am really proud of my job,” he said.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TFF\r\nA clapperboard for “Taipei Exchanges,” directed by Taiwan’s filmmaker Hsiao Ya-chuan.

By Yali Chen\r\n \r\nMonga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2 in Taipei is an art and cultural incubation base committed to nurturing local artists and designers.\r\n \r\nThe base used to be the Longshan Metro Mall, located at B2 of the MRT Longshan Temple Station. Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) spent more than six months transforming the poorly managed mall into the new incubation base in an effort to attract young artists and customers.\r\n \r\nAt the opening ceremony on December 20, 2016, Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je and the DCA commissioner Chung Yung-feng said that the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2 will function as a cultural and creative platform for local artists, designers and tourists from Taiwan and overseas to exchange ideas, thereby invigorating the Wanhua District, previously known as Monga area.\r\n \r\nBut after nearly a year of operations, some stores decided to close their businesses at the end of last year due to insufficient marketing and sparse visitors.\r\n \r\nNew Management Team\r\n \r\nIn a move to improve the status quo, the DCA commissioned a new operating team in March 2018 to manage the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2 and help local stores with marketing and publicity.\r\n \r\n“We took over responsibility for this incubation base on May 1 this year,” said Peng Tsai-hsun, Director of Waley Art. “Its operation has just run for eighteen months, so its outlook needs time to develop.”\r\n\r\n

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Photo by LRM

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Sun Tsui-feng opens her first cultural and creative store at the Monga-Longshan Cultural &\r\nCreative B2 to promote Taiwanese opera.\r\n \r\nLocated at B2 of the MRT Longshan Temple Station, the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2 is very close to Longshan Temple – one of the most visited religious sites in the capital, Peng said.\r\n \r\nA host of fortune-telling and massage booths are set up at B1 of the station. Some vendors sell souvenirs for those who often visit the Longshan Temple.\r\n \r\n“Every year this temple attracts a large number of tourists at home and abroad. They may also have an interest in local crafts. We hope to draw them to visit the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2,” Peng said. “We believe that despite a rocky start, the incubation base will have great potential for further development in the future.”\r\n \r\nFounded in August 2014, Waley Art is a Wanhua-based company committed to local art and development. In recent years, the company has gradually extended its reach to curating international art exhibitions, organizing contemporary performing arts and art shows, and participating in community transformation.\r\n \r\nThe director said that every year Waley Art stages art exhibitions in four or five countries. In the first half of this year, they have been to Japan and Hong Kong. The company plans to hold art shows in the U.K. and South Korea in the second half of the year.\r\n \r\nA Diversity of Products in 3 Areas\r\n \r\nPeng expects to leverage his company’s abundant experience in art exhibitions to help local shops at the incubation base to find new opportunities, attract new customers, and sell their creative products.\r\n \r\nWith a total of 25 spaces, the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2 is divided into 3 areas – cultural and creative products, exhibition space of art and history, and cultural and creative services.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nTaipei Ching Ho Kuang Lion Dance Troupe is committed to promoting the culture\r\nof Taiwan’s traditional temple fairs.\r\n \r\nNearly 22 local artists and designers, as well as small-sized cultural and creative companies started their operations in the first area of cultural and creative products.\r\n \r\nTaiwan’s fashion designer Wu Liang-i, for example, has devoted all her energies to the research and development of Taiwanese costume. As a costume designer of the Ming Hwa Yuan Taiwanese Opera Company, she specializes in the combination of Oriental myths and Western fashion to create a series of works with a touch of Taiwanese culture.\r\n \r\nIn 2012, Wu incorporated the cultural elements of Hakka, Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, Taiwanese opera, and Taiwan’s traditional puppet theater into her creations. Last year, her wedding dresses, titled “Jin Xiu,” have successfully integrated Taiwanese traditional embroidery and Western-style design. Local beliefs in Mazu (Taiwanese Goddess of the Sea), Guan Yin (the Goddess of Mercy), and Nüwa (the Mother Goddess of Chinese mythology) are reflected in her innovative bridal gowns.\r\n \r\nThe designer’s shop at the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2 aims to share the ideas behind her production with international visitors and attract domestic young customers to appreciate the beauty of Taiwan’s traditional art and culture.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nPeng Tsai-hsun (right), Director of Waley Art, is commissioned by Taipei City's\r\nDepartment of Cultural Affairs to take charge of the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2.\r\n \r\nSun Tsui-feng, the famous leading actress of the Ming Hwa Yuan Taiwanese Opera Company, set up a shop at the incubation base in June 2017. The aim of her first cultural and creative store is to showcase a wide range of the costumes, helmets, and hair ornaments that she wore in her Taiwanese opera performances.\r\n \r\nHer store not only sells audio-video and customized products, but also provides a wide variety of experience programs, such as introduction to Taiwanese opera, makeup and costumes, Taiwanese opera figures, Taiwanese opera singing, and martial arts. These programs are designed to give participants a chance to experience Taiwanese opera with a cultural twist.\r\n \r\nThe number of visitors to the incubation base has doubled since Sun’s shop opened last year. Over the past year, the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2 has become an emerging sightseeing destination and cultural/creative base in Taipei’s Wanhua District.\r\n \r\nTaipei Ching Ho Kuang Lion Dance Troupe, formerly known as Qingshan Temple Lion Dance Troupe, was founded by Wang Tou-chi in 1977 when he was the vice chairman of Monga Qingshan Temple. The temple, dedicated to the Lord of Green Mountains – also known as Ling An Tsun Wang – was designated as a grade-three national historic monument in 1985.\r\n \r\nWang Ching-ling and his elder brother Wang Ching-chung now are the backbone of Taipei Ching Ho Kuang Lion Dance Troupe. They learned their lion dancing skills from their grandfather, Wang Tou-chi.\r\n \r\nThe Wang brothers not only strived to ensure that the troupe’s traditions are passed down to future generations, but also helped bring the troupe to a global audience through performances in China, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. Their efforts led to the Ching Ho Kuang becoming the only overseas troupe to participate in the Japan National Lion Dance Carnival in 2011.\r\n \r\nIn August 2017, the troupe set up a shop at the incubation base to give participants a deep insight into the culture of Taiwan’s traditional temple fairs by providing a wide range of experience programs, including drum playing, lion dancing and facial makeup.\r\n \r\nFour New Stores\r\n \r\nApart from Taiwan’s traditional art and culture, four new stores opened by young artists and designers in May 2018 will be a great addition to the incubation base. They include SEE Model & Performance Group, ArtiCollect, Karat Fingerboarding, and Fluxx Project.\r\n \r\n“We plan to provide a host of backstage experience and DIY programs such as hair accessories and hat ornaments,” said Chih-siang, executive director of SEE Model & Performance Group. “Just as foreign tourists wear kimonos in Kyoto, visitors to the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2 will also have an opportunity to dress in traditional clothing of Taiwanese opera to take pictures in the future.”\r\n \r\nArtiCollect, founded by creative director and designer Sandy Yen in 2016, is a New Taipei City-based company centering on bamboo products. Graduating from Musashino Art University in western Tokyo, Yen has devoted all her energies to the application of bamboo in the design of jewelry, earrings and necklaces, as well as cultural and creative products.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto by LRM\r\nArtiCollect is a New Taipei City-based company using bamboo for the design\r\nof cultural and creative products.\r\n \r\nClark Lin founded his online shop “Karat Fingerboarding” in 2014. Fingerboarding is a sport where a player uses his fingers to manipulate a teeny skateboard. Like skateboarding, fingerboarding is recognized as a subculture in many countries, among them Taiwan.\r\n \r\nIn an effort to promote this finger sport, Lin decided to set up a store at the Monga-Longshan Cultural & Creative B2 to sell mini skateboards and fingerboarding-related products, thereby attracting young people in the Ximending shopping district.\r\n \r\nHong Yu-hao, Director of Fluxx Project, is a Wanhua-born digital artist. He held a photo exhibition, tilted “Bangka – River Terrain,” at the incubation base by using a drone to take photos of Xichang Street, also known as Herb Lane. His digital images aim to present the past, present and future of Taipei’s Wanhua area.

By Jewell Hsu\r\n \r\nTaipei City Government has implemented the policy of “Inclusive Playgrounds” in the Rongxing Garden Park, Academia Park, and Bihu Park. Now, six more parks will have playground facilities that children, the elderly and even physically challenged people could use. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said the design of these playgrounds express Taipei’s concern for its citizens.\r\n \r\nSeven principles of design\r\n \r\nTaipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DOCA), the lead agency in implementing the policy, cited the seven principles of an Inclusive Playground design: inclusive, fair, smart, independent, safe, comfortable, and pro-active.\r\n \r\nFair means that the design of the play equipment considers the needs of children, the elderly and the handicapped. Inclusive means the playground encourages community residents to invite their friends to use its facilities. Smart means it is easy to use the equipment and allows for a greater people interaction through play. Independent means users could explore and participate in play at their own level. Safe means equipment users could explore and challenge themselves as they engage in play. Pro-active means the playground environment supports different kinds of exercise and could help minimize unnecessary fatigue. Comfort means the playground is usable by those with special physical or mental needs.\r\n \r\nDOCA held public meetings, workshops, and children summer camps to gather information and opinions on the design of “Inclusive Playgrounds”. Village and neighborhood chiefs, community residents, children & the elderly, civic organizations, the handicapped, scholars and specialists participated in the meetings. The Disabled Children's Rights Advocacy Alliance in Taiwan (台灣身心障礙兒童權利推動聯盟), Parks and Playgrounds for Children Alliance (還我特色公園行動聯盟) and Taiwan Access for All Association (行無礙資源推廣協會) were also invited to the meetings.\r\n \r\nFour of the “Inclusive Playgrounds” are in Datong District: Zhaoyang Park (朝陽公園), Shude Park (樹德公園), Jinhua Park (景化公園) and Jianchen Park (建成公園); two are in Zhongshan District: Zhongan Park (中安公園) and Yongsheng Park (永盛公園).\r\n \r\nZhongan Park \r\n \r\nLocated behind Ambassador Hotel on Zhongshan North Road, Zhongan Park is a “Musical Forest”. It is close to an area of massage parlors for the blind. So the design teams Vision Union (景澤創意) and Wugo (無垢) built this park especially for those who could only discover the world through hearing. It has three “music box pillars” that could be turned to play music. A gigantic piano keyboard lies on the floor, connected to a patch of artificial grass with three “white dots” which could create sounds of bass drum, side drum and cymbals. Anyone who comes to the park can be a member of this playful music band.\r\n \r\nYongsheng Park\r\n \r\nIn Zhaoyang Park, the “Lion Button”designed by Taiwan design company Seed Spacelab (彡苗空間實驗) is a replica of the the nearby “Niukou (Button) Street,” where clothing accessories such as buttons, zippers, and lace, can be found.\r\n \r\nThe eyes of the the Lion are wide angle lenses and its “body” is a climber decorated with bright orange and yellow buttons. Children exercise their body strength as they carry themselves across the structure. Pull the lion’s whiskers and it roars.\r\n \r\nShude Park\r\n \r\nShude Park is next to the Lanzhou Market (蘭州市場) in Datong District. Its design team “Plan b” installed dozens of wooden pillars in Shude Park, and among them there are ladders, parallel bars, and woven climbers in different shapes. The woods all came from Taiwan and the climbers were made by local designer Tseng Jing-ting with handmade ropes.\r\n \r\nJinhua Park\r\n \r\nJinhua Park (景化公園) is near the MRT Daqiaotou Station (大橋頭) exit 3. The nearby area used to be a lotus root field. The design team Sandwich Studio (三明治工) implemented the “UFO Channel” theme in the park. There’s a rope climber, rock climber and a “UFO” that sounds when it spins. Park goers can run and play on an artificial lawn close by.\r\n \r\nYongsheng Park\r\n \r\nLocated next to the intersection of Minsheng East Road (民生東路) and Linsen North Road (林森北路), Yongsheng Park is a user-friendly park, especially for the physically challenged. Besides the usual slides and spring riders, those on wheelchairs will find its merry-go-round easy to use.\r\nIts “Earth Swing (搖擺大地)” is a huge elliptical cylinder; users need to use their body strength to swing it slowly.\r\n\r\nJiancheng Park\r\n \r\nJiancheng Park next to the intersection of Nanjing East Road and Chengde Road, traces its history back to 1937 during the Japanese colonial period. Jiancheng was the first park especially designed for children. CNHW (禾拓規劃設計顧問有限公司) transformed it into an inclusive playground, with a four-meter high tunnel slide and a two-meter high inclusive slide. There will be three kinds of swings, a seesaw and a merry-go-round. Jiancheng Park will open to public in the Autumn of 2018. \r\n \r\nAll Made in Taiwan\r\n \r\nThese “Inclusive Playgrounds” are all designed by local Taiwanese design teams. Except the tunnel slide which was imported from Germany, all materials and equipment were designed, produced and assembled in Taiwan. These parks are the best examples of Taiwan’s soft power.\r\n \r\nNo more canned parks in Taipei\r\n \r\nKo Wen-je said there used to be “canned parks” everywhere. These parks all look alike in terms of playground equipment; the designs are so conservative and boring that they limited children’s imagination and creativity. So the Taipei CIty Government invited Taiwan design teams to create new playgrounds. Ko hoped this could also help boost the design industry in Taiwan.\r\n \r\nOn Mayor Ko’s Facebook fan page, readers have left many positive comments in support of this Inclusive Playground policy. “Thanks to Mayor Ko, my son goes to different parks every week and has a really good time playing,” said one mother; “Very good policy; ordinary people like me can really feel the goodness”, said another. “I envy Taipei citizens who can enjoy a wholesome living environment”, “Thank you Mayor Ko for giving us such awesome parks; children enjoy playing in them.”

By Leo Maliksi\r\n \r\nIn 1956, Mao Zedong created the slogan, “Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend” and ushered in the Hundred Flowers Movement, meant to promote the arts and sciences in communist China. For Mao, the exuberant colors of flowers symbolized the vivacious creativity of intellectual thought. Later, however, Mao would use this slogan to flush out intellectuals who were critical of his regime.\r\n \r\nIn Taipei, the flowers that decorate the walls and gardens of the former homes of Chien Mu and Lin Yutang might symbolize these intellectuals’ colorful lives.\r\n\r\n

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Photo from DOCA

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Clockwise from upper left: Former homes of Li Guoding, Lin Yutang,\r\nand Chien Mu, and the Japanese-style building at the Kishu An Forest of Literature\r\n\r\n \r\nChien Mu (錢穆) (1895–1990) was a scholar who believed Chinese cultural identity could be rediscovered through education and intellectual activity. The communist takeover of China drove him to leave in 1949, and after living in exile in Hong Kong, in 1968 he moved to Taiwan.\r\n \r\nBorn in Fujian the same year as Chien Mu, Lin Yutang was a writer, translator, linguist, philosopher, and inventor. His compilations and English translations of classical Chinese texts became best-sellers in the western world. Lin felt that China lacked the Western concept of humor and sought to introduce it into Chinese culture, coining the term youmo (“humor”) in 1924 and using The Analects to promote his idea that humor was the expression of a tolerant, cosmopolitan, understanding, and civilized philosophy of life. He died in 1976 and was buried at his home in Yangmingshan.\r\n \r\nChien Mu’s house is on the Waishuangshi campus of Soochow University. Like Lin’s house, it has a large garden. Madame Chien personally oversaw the layout of the bricks, stones, and grass to create a restful courtyard. The garden is enlivened by many Azalea shrubs which bloom from February to March or from April to June, depending on the variety. Sturdy old pines and tall bamboo trees sway in the soothing wind.\r\n \r\nLin Yutang's former home on Yangming Avenue on Yangmingshan was designed by Master Wang Dazhao, architect of the Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall and the National Palace Museum. It is a white house with Spanish-style arches and columns, and roof tiles of the sort often used for Chinese courtyard houses.\r\n \r\nIn April the mid-season azaleas are in bloom, so visitors to these famous homes can enjoy the dazzling exuberance of the garden royalty. They can also relish the delicacies on offer in the gourmet restaurants inside these historical homes. This is the perfect spot to read, have a cup of coffee, and enjoy the panoramic views of the Taipei Basin, Guanyin Mountain, and the Tamsui River.\r\n \r\nIn Taipei, some old government buildings and former official residences are easily reached by Taipei metro. These structures belong to what is called Taipei’s “Flowers and Gardens” tourism route. Li Guoding’s former residence is on Taian Street, near the Zhongxiao Xinsheng and Dongmen metro stations. During the Japanese colonial period, it was the official residence of the head of the Bureau of Transportation under the Presidential Office.\r\n \r\nLi Guoding won high recognition as the main architect behind Taiwan’s economic miracle. From 1979 to 1982, as head of the Institute for Information Industry, he single-mindedly pursued the policy of developing science and technology.\r\n \r\nThe Kishu An Forest of Literature (紀州庵文學森林) lies at the end of Tong-an Street near Guting Station. Built in 1917, it once had a spacious Japanese-style house with the floor raised above the ground, but this was destroyed by fire in 2013, and now a new Japanese-style house stands on the site. Old, majestic trees surround the house, a place where famous writers found a haven where they could write. Inside, the Literature Gallery tea room offers a wide selection of Taiwanese tea and Japanese-style snacks.\r\n \r\nAs summer draws near, Taipei residents and visitors will encounter cool flowered gardens along Taipei’s Flowers and Gardens tourism route.\r\n \r\nOpening hours\r\n \r\nLin Yutang House\r\nNo. 141, Yangde Blvd., Sec. 2, Taipei\r\nTel: (02) 2861-3003\r\nOpen from 9 am to 5 pm, closed on Monday.\r\nRestaurant open from 10 am to 9 pm, closed on Monday.\r\nPlease call to book guided tours.\r\n \r\nChien Mu House\r\nNo. 72, Linxi Rd., Shilin District, Taipei\r\nOpen from 9 am to 5 pm, closed on Monday.\r\nTel: (02) 2880-5809\r\nPlease book guided tours by telephone two days in advance.\r\n \r\nLi Guoding House\r\nNo. 3, Lane 2, Taian St., Taipei\r\nOpen from 10 am to 4 pm, Tuesday to Saturday.\r\nTwo-hour guided tours twice a day: morning and afternoon.\r\n \r\nKishu An Forest of Literature\r\nNo. 107, Tong-an St., Taipei\r\nTel: (02) 2368-7577\r\nNew building: open from 10 am to 6 pm, Tuesday to Thursday; 10 am to 9 pm Friday and Saturday.\r\nHistorical Artifacts building: open from 10 am to 6 pm, Tuesday to Sunday; 10 am to 9 pm on Friday.\r\nTea House: opens at 10:30; tel: 2368-7577 ext. 10\r\nGuided tours on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 1:30. Please call (02) 2861-3003 ext 16.

By Jewell Hsu\r\n \r\nThe Style Bangkok Fair took place from April 19 to 23 at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre. This was the first time that fashion, leather, gifts & houseware, and furniture retailers exhibited products at the same fair.\r\n\r\n

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DOCA Photo

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Taiwanese and Thai delegates discuss the cultural and creative industries\r\nduring a seminar at the Style Bangkok Fair.

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\r\nThe Taipei booth TAIPEI Corners was set up by the Taipei Culture Foundation’s (TCF) Creative Development Department, and the products on display attracted many visitors. The TCF also sent a delegation of 15 vendors of cultural and creative products and services to look into possible business ventures with Thai entrepreneurs.\r\n \r\nThe TFC and Songshan Cultural and Creative Park signed an MOU with Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC) on further cooperation in the development of talent within the cultural and creative industries. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) witnessed the ceremony.\r\n\r\n

\r\nOn April 23, a Business Seminar and Match-making event took place at the Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit to strengthen Taiwan–Thailand cooperation, especially in the cultural creative industries.\r\n \r\nChung Yung-Feng (鍾永豐), Commissioner of Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs, spoke about the city’s cultural policies and cited several successful examples. Commissioner Chung said he hoped this event would be a springboard for greater cooperation between Taiwan and Thailand in the cultural and creative industries.

By Gia Tang\r\nPhotos from Wang Da Hong House\r\n \r\nThe Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) recently launched the “Wang Da Hong House Theater,” an art project where visitors listen to an audioguide of the history of the house as they walk around experiencing Wang’s architectural philosophy. As the designer of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and the National Palace Museum, Wang was a pioneer of modernist architecture in Taiwan. His modernist designs were informed by the traditional Chinese garden and the Siheyuan (四合院), a traditional family residence of four rectangular brick dwellings built around a courtyard.\r\n \r\nIn the theatrical presentation, the audience sees the performance, listens to the dialogue, and enters the world depicted by the presentation. The Wang Da Hong House Theater seeks to provide visitors with the same audiovisual, imaginative experience as a piece of theatre.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe modernist house features a red, black, and white color scheme and plain brick walls in demonstration of Wang Da Hong’s aesthetic. \r\n \r\nLocated in the Taipei Art Park, next to the museum, Wang Da Hong House is a replica of Wang’s 1950s residence on Jianguo South Road. The replica uses a red, black, and white color scheme, with exposed brick walls and round windows expressing the modernist aesthetic of the famed architect. \r\n \r\n“This reproduction of Wang’s house is a treasure-trove of memories, material details of family affection, and Taiwan’s architectural history,” said TFAM director Lin Ping. “TFAM plans to use it as a platform to promote exchanges and projects.”\r\n \r\n\r\nVisitors listen to the house’s fascinating history on the audioguide.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe activity is organized by local theater troupe CO-COISM and is open to all every Sunday from now until September 23, 2018. Each immersive session can accommodate 3 to 6 participants and lasts around 30 minutes. Those interested can register online starting at 10 am every Monday. There are also guided tours: For more information or to make a reservation, please visit http://www.tfam.museum/.\r\n\r\n\r\nRound windows and exposed brick give an oriental flavor to the modernist house.

The theme of reality and unreality runs through Taipei Children’s Arts Festival (TCAF) in 2018.\r\n \r\nA total of 23 performing groups from Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Vietnam, and Taiwan were invited by Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC) to give more than 300 performances at this year’s festival running from June 30 until August 5.\r\n \r\nChung Yung-feng, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, said that in recent years the primary target audience of the TCAF had been no longer limited to children. “We’re especially targeting adults with a child-like innocence in their inner side,” he added.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TCAF\r\nThe TPAC director Austin Wang says that this year’s festival has increased\r\nmany opportunities for interactions between artists and viewers.\r\n \r\nNow in its 19th year, the TCAF centers on inspiring imagination. The highlight of this year’s programs lies in the application of contemporary technologies such as machinery and multimedia in art performances.\r\n \r\nIn some cases, Gulliver’s Dream, conceived by German stage set designer and robot artist Roland Olbeter, is a mechanical opera for 10 automated marionettes. He made use of automated machinery to control specially made marionettes.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TCAF\r\nThe DCA commissioner Chung Yung-feng, TCF chairman Li Yuan and TPAC director\r\nAustin Wang take a group photo to announce that the ticketing of Taipei Children’s\r\nArts Festival has kick-started May 26.\r\n\r\n\r\nPhoto from TCAF\r\nThe Puppet Beings Theatre Company performs at May 23 press conference\r\nof Taipei Children’s Arts Festival.\r\n \r\nAnother program Screen Man, designed by the El teatre de L’ home DIBUIXAT, Spain, combines digital and physical materials. By manipulating a number of puppets, props and virtual images, the performing group leads the audience into a magic world filled with the ambience of science fiction.\r\n \r\n“This year’s festival was organized by the TPAC for the first time,” the TPAC director Austin Wang said. “We invited a large number of artists and performing groups from Taiwan and overseas. Some of them will interact with parents and kids on stage to open up unlimited possibilities.”\r\n \r\nTheater groups from Italy and Taiwan are teaming up to perform Buchettino as part of this year’s festival. Since its inception in 2010, this international co-production has become a blockbuster show. This year it will run for the eighth consecutive year with a total of 26 shows.\r\n \r\nFor more details on the TCAF, please visit http://www.taipeicaf.org/. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.artsticket.com.tw/.

By Jewell Hsu\r\n\r\nIn 2004, Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs set up a committee to recognize organizations working in the areas of artistic creation, education, and promotion. Last year, the committee honored the Ju Percussion Group for their promotion and development of percussion music in Taiwan.\r\n \r\nEstablished in January 1986 and the 15th group to be chosen by the committee, JPG was the first professional percussion group in Taiwan and has a highly efficient management system for the global promotion of Taiwanese percussion. Ju Tzong-Ching, founder of the group, won the committee’s praise as an excellent percussionist and an effective administrator.\r\n \r\nIn 1993, Ju organized the Taiwan International Percussion Convention (TIPC), which is held every 3 years. The event successfully introduced Taiwan to the world’s most avant-garde trends in percussion art and thus turned the island into an important venue for the development of percussion.\r\n \r\nJPG is committed to maintaining its base in Taiwan and showing the world the abundance of percussion talent here by "blending traditional and modern musical styles, drawn from both East and West." The group has played at many important art festivals in Europe, America, and Asia.\r\n \r\nThe Percussive Arts Society (PAS) awarded Ju its Lifetime Education Achievement Award and inducted him into its Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions. He is the first Asian to receive these honors.\r\n \r\nA well-known figure in the art world in Taiwan, Ju has served as Director of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and Director and Chairman of the Board of the National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center, which manages the National Theatre and the National Concert Hall. He was Professor and Chairperson of the Music Department and the Graduate Institute of Arts Administration and Management at the Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA).\r\n

By Jewell Hsu\r\n \r\nTaipei City Government announced that Ho Kang Kuo (何康國) would be the new director of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra (TSO), effective February 1, 2018. The inauguration ceremony was hosted by Chung Yung Feng (鍾永豐), Commissioner of the City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Chung praised Ho for his professionalism in the music field, saying, “TSO celebrates its 50th anniversary next year, and Ho is the ideal person to carry on its outstanding performance.”\r\n \r\nHo was deputy director of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2003, director of the National Symphony Orchestra from 2003 to 2005, and TSO director from 2005 to 2008.\r\n \r\nHo holds a doctorate in Musical Arts from the City University of New York (1998) and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from National Taiwan University. He has published academic monographs focusing mainly on orchestra management.\r\nHo’s first contact with the TSO dates back to the days when he studied clarinet under Professor Fu Chien-Hua, a TSO member. In his first year at university, Ho played second clarinet during the TSO’s debut performance of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.” In his fourth year (1987–1988), Ho played principal clarinet for the TSO’s Affiliated Youth Orchestra.\r\n \r\n“Music is the bedrock of the performing arts,” said Ho, “and I pledge to improve the Taipei Symphony Orchestra and make it the musical best friend of the people of Taipei.”

Famous music professionals conduct electronic music workshop in Taipei

\r\nBy Gia Tang\r\n \r\n

The Future of Electronic Music, a workshop set up by the Department of Cultural Affairs, recently concluded. The workshop was conducted by instructors from the London School of Sound (LSS) and renowned Japanese music producer Taku Takahashi. More than 100 local music professionals applied for the workshop and 25 were selected to take part in the sessions held from late February to early March, totaling 52 hours.\r\n\r\nThe workshops focused on sound design, sound mixing, and track deconstruction and reconstruction. Participants also learned how to make a career in electronic music production. Federico Bersano Begey, course director at the LSS, Takahashi, known for his music productions for Crystal Kay, and Ayumi Hamasaki were among the instructors and are ranked among the world’s best practitioners in their fields.\r\n\r\nOn March 1, the instructors attended a performance by Utopia Taiwan, winner of the Golden Indie Music Awards, to express the widespread desire to increase opportunities for exchange among music professionals from Taiwan and overseas.\r\n\r\nOn March 18, under the direction of well-known DJ Mykal, the workshop participants presented their work at The Wall Live House. Those who demonstrated exceptional skill during the workshop will join high-flyers from other music workshops to work with universities where they will share their experience with students.\r\n\r\nThe cultivation of musical talent has always been a priority for the Department of Cultural Affairs. The department hosts exhibitions, performances, and other events for the general public, also organizing in-depth training, seminars, and workshops for music professionals. Workshops on music production and programming and marketing and agency strategies have also been held in preparation for the opening of the Taipei Music Center later this year.

\r\nDOCA Photo\r\nMitsui Warehouse will re-open to the public in August.\r\n\r\n\r\nDOCA Photo\r\nMitsui Warehouse that dates to the Japanese Colonial era had deteriorated beyond repair.\r\n\r\n\r\nDOCA Photo\r\nThe Taipei City Cultural Heritage Review Committee had seismic retrofitting done on the site of Mitsui Warehouse’s new location.\r\n

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Mitsui Warehouse to open for the public in August

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By Gia Tang\r\n\r\nAfter a year of renovation and cleaning, the Mitsui Warehouse has a new look. Landscaping and interior design are now underway to prepare for the public opening in August.\r\n\r\nOnce used as a simple storage building during the Japanese Colonial era, in May 2012 the warehouse was declared a historical structure, and in 2015 the Taipei City Government included it in the Historical Buildings Relocation and Restoration Project to renovate the Beimen historical area.\r\n\r\nThe Taipei City Cultural Heritage Review Committee approved the warehouse’s return to its former location. Before its relocation, Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs undertook a thorough study to ensure that no damage would ensue during transfer and installed systems to prevent damage in case of an earthquake.\r\n\r\nThe typical approach to relocating a building is to disassemble it into large pieces and then reassemble them in the new location. However, the brickwork of this building had become too weak for large brick sections to be disassembled, and the roof tiles and floor slabs had deteriorated beyond repair. In the end, the committee suggested that relocation and reassembly be carried out brick by brick.\r\n\r\nThe main building gable had also deteriorated to the point that it could not be reinstalled at the new location. Thus, a new gable was made following the architectural practices of the time the original was made, while the latter was kept to be displayed as a historical artifact.\r\n\r\nThe Mitsui Warehouse will be used as a venue for cultural activities and as a monument to the history of the Beimen area.

Since 2015 the Taipei Soundscape Program has transformed the soundscape of Taipei Metro stations. Music greets passengers from the moment they enter the station until they board the train. On March 31, Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Metro Taipei called on music professionals to submit proposals to provide ambient music for 10 stations: Nangang, Ximen, Beimen, Zhongshan, Yuanshan, Taipei 101, Jianan Road, Dahu Park, Xingtian Temple, and Daqiaotou.\r\n\r\n The music should reflect the religion, history, ecology, and tourism of Taipei City and express the uniqueness of each station’s district. Applicants should submit a written proposal and musical recordings for 1 to 3 stations. The call is open to all, regardless of nationality or age. Applicants can be individuals or groups. The deadline is May 15.\r\n\r\n Seven judges—including award-winning composer CinCin Lee, well-known mixing engineer Mr. K, music producer Lin Shang-de, and flautist Tsai Chia-fen—will choose 10 winners who will each receive a prize of NT$35,000 and win the right to take part in a workshop. The workshop sessions will be led by Lin, sound artist Chi Pao-hao, Soundscape Association founder Laila Fan, and program promotor Lee Ming-tsung. Under their guidance, the winners will create ambient music for the 10 stations, and MRT passengers will be able to hear their music from October.\r\n\r\n Graphic designer and Grammy Awards nominee Xiao Qing-yang created the Sound of Silence logo for the program. “Ambient music is not meant to break silence but to complement the feeling of spaciousness,” he said.

\r\n\t\t\tPhoto by LRM\r\n\t\t\tArtists-in-residence at the Taipei Artist Village on Treasure Hill use their art to portray the interaction of light with space, time, and other physical forces in the universe.

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\r\n\t\t\tPhoto by LRM\r\n\t\t\tLiam Morgan’s Wind uses a stroboscopic effect to make the blades of an electric fan seem to alternate between rapid spinning and motionlessness.

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\r\n\t\t\tPhoto by LRM\r\n\t\t\tArtist Liam Morgan says that creating a work of art involves exploration and experimentation, a process of trial and error before arriving at the desired outcome.

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\r\n\t\t\tPhoto by LRM\r\n\t\t\tCatherine Lee, director of Taipei Artist Village on Treasure Hill.\r\n\t\t\t

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\r\n\t\t\tPhoto by LRM\r\n\t\t\tCanadian Justin Tyler Tate has just recently started using light as a medium. “Shine,” his creation for the Festival, presents the bioluminescence found in everyday life as an organic alternative to the luminescence of disposable digital devices.

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The 2018 Treasure Hill Light Festival\r\nHere and There convey how our senses can be mistaken\r\n

\r\nBy Leo Maliksi\r\n \r\nFrom March 24 to May 6, the Treasure Hill Light Festival is featuring the work of resident artists whose creations use the medium of light. Eight Taiwanese and two Canadian artists seek to express the interaction of light with space, time, and other physical forces in the universe.\r\n \r\nOne example is Lee Te-mao’s Interference Wave, which uses a projector to show slides and films. Projectors emit both ultraviolet and infrared light, but the lens typically filters out most of the ultraviolet light, leaving the visible and infrared light which produce the visible color spectrum that enables viewers to see the projected images in color.\r\n \r\nLee has taken out the glass lens, allowing the ultraviolet and infrared light to interact and produce a wave-like phenomenon, called an “interference wave” in physics. At some points, the waves appear to be stationary, and Lee has captured this and projected them onto a small pool. The frozen ripples represent gravitational waves. Gravity is invisible: we only see its effects. But Lee’s Interference Wave enables viewers to “see” gravity using the interaction between two ranges of light waves.\r\n \r\nCanadian Liam Morgan’s Wind uses a stroboscopic effect to make the blades of an electric fan seem to spin rapidly, then stop motionless, then spin again. We feel the breeze, we hear the whirr. The blades appear to stop. Start. Stop. Start. But the breeze blows on, and the whirr continues.\r\n \r\nThe secret lies in variations in frequency of the subtly flashing fluorescent light. When the light’s frequency matches the speed of the blades, the fan appears to be stationary.\r\n \r\nMorgan drew his inspiration from the fluorescent bulbs that illuminate ceiling fans in restaurants. “You look up and there seems to be a distortion in the movement of the fan blades,” he said. The fluorescent light disrupts the way we perceive the movement of the blades.\r\n \r\nTaipei Artist Village – Treasure Hill invited Morgan, who has lived in Bangkok for 16 years, to exhibit his work at the Light Festival. Creating a work of art involves exploration and experimentation, he said, a process of trial and error before arriving at the desired outcome. “The end result is what the public sees, but I prefer the process of making it.”\r\n \r\nUsing light as a medium to express the idea that light can fail to present reality to our senses is a fitting theme for Treasure Hill, once a residential district for retired soldiers. The houses on the hill retain their 1980s designs, but now they form a village where artists come to live for three months and create their art.\r\n \r\n“You see houses built forty years ago, but when you look inside you see art that reflects the mindset of our own time,” said Catherine Lee, director of Taipei Artist Village. “Past and present seem to merge here at Treasure Hill, so we named this exhibition ‘Parallel Time & Space’.”\r\n \r\nThe name comes from Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, which demonstrates that space and time are interwoven into a single continuum known as space-time. According to Einstein, time is not absolute but relative and flexible: “The dividing line between past, present, and future is an illusion.”\r\n \r\nEvents occurring at the same time for one observer could occur at different times for another owing to their different locations (and whether the observers are moving or still).\r\n \r\nOur universe is in motion, even if we don’t feel its movement. We are not sensitive enough to the many microscopic changes that happen around us; hence, the physical reality that light appears to reveal to our senses may be a distortion.\r\n \r\n“The artists in this exhibition show us that while we live in time and space, we discern only a small part of the whole picture because what we see is ultimately in constant change,” said Lee.\r\n \r\n ",
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"Source": "https://english.culture.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=8F944957712BA2B8&s=2A7B8A0259A07943",
"title": "Renowned Curator Sean C. S. Hu to Take Helm of Taipei’s 2018 Nuit Blanche",
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\r\n\r\nRenowned Curator Sean C. S. Hu to Take Helm of Taipei’s 2018 Nuit Blanche\r\n(Press Release) \r\nIn 2016, at the invitation of the French Office in Taipei, Taipei City joined the long line of cities around the world celebrating the Nuit Blanche. In its first year, the Taipei version of the all-night arts festival brought 200,000 people onto the streets, and the 2017 festival, which moved to Taipei’s south districts, saw 300,000 people of all ages enjoy the arts festivities. This enthusiastic public response showed the strong demand for a large-scale night-time arts event.\r\n\r\nVarious art forms were used to create the Taiwanese incarnation of this international festival, which also demonstrated the difficulties involved in mounting a nocturnal arts festival amidst the noise and traffic of the city and its complex historical context. In addition to setting up a Nuit Blanche review board, a series of creative workshop and consultative meetings called Idea Taipei were held to canvas the ideas and opinions of the wider public and to provide an opportunity for consultation with experts and scholars.\r\n\r\nThe Taipei Nuit Blanche was in part based on the organizational system used for the Paris Nuit Blanche (e.g. exhibitions by different curators every year, general coordination and collaboration teams, public relations teams and on-site installation teams). But the organizational structure of the Taipei Nuit Blanche also departed from its predecessor, which outsourced all management to a single company. At the Idea Taipei creative workshops, participants considered concrete ways to give the Nuit Blanche a specifically Taiwanese sensibility; for example, creative ideas were raised for the development of a space that would tell our city’s history, and consultants discussed how to organize the night’s events and give them a consistent local feel.\r\n\r\nThe art director’s role and administrative experience was of particular importance in terms of his skill at planning major international arts events, the effect on the local community, the exhibition’s spatial organization, and imbuing the event with the spirit of Taiwanese art. It was crucial that the artistic director make his overall planning and the narrative of the night consistent with the general policy direction of city government and also take into account city residents’ strong demand for such an event, as well as the views of local artists and creative bodies.\r\n\r\nThe consultants made many recommendations for the appointment of an artistic director. Given that the Nuit Blanche would be an opportunity for international exchange and a platform for attracting and exhibiting Taipei talent in art and design, the artistic director had to be someone capable of organizing an outstanding, multi-disciplinary international arts exhibition. After careful deliberation, the renowned curator Sean C. S. Hu was chosen to take the helm of Taipei’s 2018 Nuit Blanche. Currently CEO of Hu’s Art Company, Sean C. S. Hu has long been active in arts circles and in 2016 was awarded a British Council visiting fellowship to Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. It is hoped that his involvement in the Taipei Nuit Blanche will bring new depths, richer potential and greater vitality to the story of our city.\r\n\r\nA Nuit Blanche discussion forum will be held on 20 January 2018, with special guests Emmanuel Daydé, head organizer of the Paris Nuit Blanche, and Renaud Barillet, associate executive director of La Bellevilloise, who are coming to Taiwan to share their in-depth experience with exhibition organization. For sign-up information, see the Taipei City Government Department of Cultural Affairs website for the latest updates, or go to the Nuit Blanche Facebook page.\r\n \r\nIntroduction to Sean C. S. Hu\r\nSean C. S. Hu was born in Taiwan. He graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University with a degree in Mass Communication (Broadcasting and Television) before going on to study for a master’s in Art Administration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Hu served as curator at the Fubon Art Foundation, director general of the Taiwan Visual Arts Association, and adjunct lecturer at National Taiwan University of Arts. He currently serves as director at the Jut Foundation for Arts and Architecture and as consultant to the Association of the Visual Arts in Taiwan and the Taipei City Government. He is a co-founder of the VT Artsalon, co-founder and curator of Double Square Gallery, and CEO of Hu’s Art Company.\r\n\r\nHu has won numerous awards and recognitions including a 2016 British Council visiting fellowship to Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, being named one of Vogue’s People 101 in 2009, acting as Asia Arts Curator to the 2008 Shanghai Arts Fair, and serving as Visual Arts Representative for a professional collaborative art project and exchange between Taiwan and France in 2005.\r\n\r\nAmong the many exhibitions he has curated, a number have won awards:\r\n2017 Artist Magazine’s annual Top Ten Public Exhibitions\r\n2010 9th Taipei Urban Landscape Award\r\n2007 9th Art & Business Award\r\n2005 Artist Magazine’s annual Top Ten Public Exhibitions\r\n2003 First Prize at the 1st Public Art Awards\r\n

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"Source": "https://english.culture.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=8F944957712BA2B8&s=D4F7DFBBF7023047",
"title": "Asian Artists Gather in Taipei for ADAM Project",
"Content": "Asian Artists Gather in Taipei for ADAM Project\r\n–Asia Discovers Asia Meeting for Contemporary Performance\r\n\r\nAs “Asia” becomes the new keyword for global politics and economy, the western-dominated world of arts and culture gradually shifts its focus toward the contemporary art in Asia.\r\nWith advantageous geographic position, diverse cultures, rich creative energy and freedom of art creation, and with the aid of New Southbound Policy promotion plan, Taiwan has all it takes to bring its performance art to the next level. This is the best time for Taiwan to build an international platform for performance art, and also the turning point to bring Taiwanese art to the world stage.\r\n\r\nHence, Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC) launched ADAM – Asia Discovers Asia Meeting for Contemporary Performance in 2017. As an artist-focused platform, the ADAM project provides a friendly environment for artistic creation, aiming to deepen cooperation and exchange among artists and help them connect with each other. Moreover, by bridging venues and art festival partners across the Asia-Pacific region, TPAC strives to facilitate international collaboration such as co-commissioning, co-producing, artist-in-residence programs and research schemes.\r\n\r\nThe first ADAM gathering will be held in Taipei, bringing together 200+ international programmers, venue representatives, and artists with various disciplines from over 20 cities across the Asia-Pacific region. The events include Artist Lab, Flavors (Studio Presentations), and Dialogues (Symposium & Meetings), all of which encourage Arts professionals to interact with the crowd and to picture together the new blueprint for the development of Asia contemporary art. Using art as the common language, all participants could share their thoughts about art, culture and society in Asia-Pacific region. These conversation and exchange of ideas enable us to view Asia from Taipei and to connect with the world.\r\n",
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"Source": "https://english.culture.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=8F944957712BA2B8&s=5948AEEBCC9ABD64",
"title": "Taipei Design and City Exhibition 2017: On Equality",
"Content": "Taipei Design and City Exhibition 2017, held by Department of Cultural Affairs, Taipei City Government with the theme of On Equality is pertinent to citizens’ thoughts, that is, everyone is deemed as a crucial element of building a city; not a single one can be omitted. There are six main and specially-designed subjects that are closely related to citizens, including park, community, landscape, education, data and sustainability in the exhibition; there are 27 domestic and foreign cases in total, which systematically introduces how cooperation among public sector, private sector and the third sector reach a balance. Upholding the principle of DESIGN FOR ONE, DESIGN FOR ALL makes the essence of design go back to the original intention, which is human equality. \r\nModern development has brought prosperity and progress to a city. The degree of happiness varies from person to person; however, bringing happiness for each citizen is the goal of Taipei City to become a livable city. Can we eliminate the gap by the intervention of the design? It is the unavoidable lesson that existing and potential risks should be evaluated and managed when in the situation where a city pursues limitless development while resources are limited. Therefore, contemplating through design, pondering over and redefining the problem and relying on new technology to solve the problem have become a reliable tool for a contemporary city governor. The current Taipei Design and City Exhibition has attempted to reverse the usual pattern of designing an exhibition by setting On Equality as the theme of the exhibition, expecting citizens to use dialectical thinking while enjoying the exhibition. \r\nThe content of the exhibition not only involves the city government’s design ideas in the past and present and the process of participatory design, which was introduced by the city government, but also introduces corresponding civil and international cases to provoke participants’ positive discussion and thinking through diverse perspectives from the government, civil and international.\r\n",
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"Source": "https://english.culture.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=8F944957712BA2B8&s=F17705D348D18890",
"title": "2017 Nuit Blanche Taipei -- Let's Not Sleep Tonight!",
"Content": "Nuit Blanche is an all-night arts festival held in cities all over the world, originated in Paris in 2002 and takes place on the first Saturday night of October. The core concepts of the Nuit Blanche are “urban innovation” and “public space design”. Nuit Blanche invites the public to explore new as-pects and depths of the city by making urban spaces and art accessible to the audience. Nuit Blanche possesses three unique characters, “all-night events”, “free for all” and “civic engagement”, providing a chance for citizens to access art and freely travel through urban spaces with various art-works and performances.\r\n\r\nIn 2016, Taipei joined the global community to host the very first Nuit Blanche of Taiwan around Beimen area. With the slogan of “let’s not sleep tonight”, the festival attracted 200,000 people to walk into the old blocks of Taipei and was marked as one of the city’s most beautiful memories. In 2017, the Nuit Blanche is moving towards the southern edge of the city, Gongguan, connecting three major spaces of National Taiwan University, the Wen-Luo-Ting cluster and Taipei City Hakka Cultural Park, using the independent spirits and multiculturalism thrived in the Gongguan area as the core to depict the city’s unique cultural and urban landscape. Nuit Blanche Taipei calls on citi-zens to experience the “axis and spirit of times” in southern Taipei and to become artists at the spe-cial night. \r\n\r\nNuit Blanche Taipei 2017 stages in Gongguan, and it separates its 2-kilometer route into three major sections -“Electronic Treasure on the Royal Palm Boulevard”, “Independent Treasure on the Streets of Wen-Luo-Ting, and “Cross-cultural Treasure of the Dreamers”, based on the urban and cultural landscape of the exhibition area.\r\n\r\nThe “Electronic Treasure on the Royal Palm Boulevard” will be held along both sides of the Boule-vard, with interactive installations, art projections, performance art and battle of DVJ. There will also be classical orchestra competing with electronic music on the main stage, gigantic projection mapping show lighting up the University library, and midnight forum taken place under the starry night as if National Taiwan University turns into a nighttime art university.\r\n\r\n “Independent Treasure on the Streets of Wen-Luo-Ting” will be scattered in Wenzhou Street, Roo-sevelt Road and Tingzhou Road. Jugglers and DJs will battle together inside and outside of the Taiwan Power Company Building, and people will walk through independent bookshops, under-ground musical stages and cafes hidden in the streets under the lead of art performances. Here, re-bellious spirits and sophisticated aesthetics merge into a unique cultural atmosphere. \r\n\r\nAt the other end, “Cross-Cultural Treasure of the Dreamers” will span across the Substitute Military Service Center and the Hakka Cultural Park. The Nuit Blanche Village of Literature and Arts will be built in the Service Center, which is strictly guarded on ordinary days; a great variety of local cultures and avant-garde artworks are to be mixed and mingled in the Hakka Park.\r\n\r\nDuring the Nuit Blanche, more than 30 museums and cultural facilities will open till mid-night, in-cluding the National Palace Museum, the Presidential Office Building, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Arts Taipei. On October 7, let us create another memory of Tai-pei and stay up all night for the love of arts. The city belongs to the people; let’s occupy the streets for arts!\r\n",
"Files": [],
"Links": [],
"Pictures": [],
"Movies": [],
"Publish Department": "The Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs"
}
]